CHAPTER XXI
Danger at Hand
Turning on the moment, the three ran toward the entrance of thecavern, never looking behind for fear of seeing the ugly creaturesdangerously near.
"They're coming!" panted Bob, as he heard the flapping that told thatthe bats were flying nearer. "And I do hope we can get out in time!"
They reached the entrance of the cave and dashed out, but not beforeone of the creatures had inflicted an ugly bite on Dr. Rander's leg.
Once out of the dark opening, the adventurers felt fairly safe, eventhough several bats followed them.
"We can at least fight them off out here," said Joe. "And that wassomething we couldn't have done in the cave."
The several bats fluttered about ominously, keeping close to theground. Their faces were of peculiar shape, closely resembling that ofa bulldog. What interested Bob and Joe was that the creatures couldrun very rapidly over the ground.
"Usually bats can't make much speed except in the air," remarked Bob,remembering something his father had told him. "Their legs aren'tordinarily made for walking."
"It's different with these vampires, though," came from Joe.
Dr. Rander thought it best to proceed farther before making camp, inorder to protect the pack animals from the bats. He well knew that itis not uncommon for mules and llamas in this region to be attacked bybats. People, however, are usually safe from their bites.
That night the mules were molested only slightly by a few of the batsthat followed the expedition. But aside from a few swollen places,they were none the worse for their experience.
"It's a wonder one of us hasn't a place or two to show that the batswere around," remarked Joe, after, the morning meal.
"We have." Bob glanced at the old explorer. "At least Dr. Rander has."
That person had been treating the wound in his leg and watching itclosely to see that infection did not set in. The right kind of care,he said, would cause the sore to heal quickly.
Again up the difficult trail the explorers went, after having brokencamp and attended to the mules.
"Wouldn't be funny if we'd meet anything here," said Bob with ashudder. "The path is so narrow that it's all we can do to get byourselves."
"No," Bob agreed. "And there's no way of telling----"
He did not finish the sentence, for at that moment there came acommotion from around a turn. To the travelers, it sounded likerapidly moving hoofs.
The noise increased. Then the three shrank back as they saw advancingtoward them a line of galloping vicugnas, which were small animalsresembling llamas.
Joe groaned hopelessly.
"Either we or they will have to go off the cliff," he said tensely."There isn't room for both of us."
The animals came nearer at a rapid pace. Apparently they were greatlyfrightened from some cause or other. Whether something was chasingthem the travelers did not know.
"We must save the mules!" cried Dr. Rander anxiously.
"I have an idea, if it will work," said Bob.
The other looked at him hopefully. Well they knew that if the packanimals were to plunge over the edge of the peak, the three would befaced with the possibility of starvation.
There was not a moment to lose. Whatever they did must be donequickly.
Bob moved over to the head of the pack train. Joe and Dr. Randerremained near the middle of the line, intending to frighten thevicugnas and prevent the pack animals from becoming panic-stricken. Ifnecessary, they would shoot the vicugnas to prevent them from comingaround the trail. But unless forced they did not wish to do this forfear of scaring the mules.
In front of the foremost pack animal Bob stood with a thick rope,which he had formed into a lasso. When the first vicugna came near,the youth swung the loop out from the side of the mountain and made aperfect throw over the animal's head.
Bob gave the rope a quick pull and then let go. The impact brought thevicugna to the ground with a thud. Its followers, trying in vain tocheck themselves, stumbled over their fallen leader, several of themfalling over the cliff. The others remained on the trail withdifficulty.
"Fine work!" praised Joe, walking around the mules to his friend. "Ifyou hadn't thought of that, I guess we'd have had to shoot them. Ididn't know you knew anything about a lasso."
"I don't. That is--very little. But I thought I'd try that and see ifit would work. If it didn't, I was going to shoot them. They had to bestopped some way."
"What do you suppose made them come around the trail so fast?" askedJoe.
Dr. Rander expressed the belief that the vicugnas had been frightenedby a puma or some other animal.
"Otherwise they would not have made that wild dash," he said."Whenever you see a stampede of animals, you may know that there issome reason for it."
The explorers forced the remaining vicugnas to turn back and followthe trail in the direction from which they had come. When the lastanimal had disappeared around the bend, Dr. Rander urged the mulesahead, and they again took up the journey.
"I don't suppose the puma or whatever it was will frighten thosevicugnas back again, will it?" Joe was a bit worried as they laboredaround the rough trail, which was even narrower than before.
"We'll hope not," the old man said.
"If the puma's there, maybe we can get a shot at it," suggested Bob."I'd like to bag one for Dad and the others."
But if there was one of these huge cats in the vicinity, it did notmake its presence known. Perhaps, as Joe mentioned, it had left foranother locality.
So closely did the youths look about that they did not notice thewall of rock that appeared suddenly before them. Only Dr. Rander'svoice served to rouse them.
"Here we come to the first secret," he asserted, pointing to a smallopening in the wall of rock.
"So soon?" asked Bob wonderingly. "Why, I thought----"
"It is a tunnel," explained the old explorer. "One that was made bythe Incas. As far as I know, I am the only person who is aware of itsexistence."
At once the boys were aflame with interest.
"And--and we must pass through it?" Bob peered at the narrow opening,which seemed no different from many other crevices they had seen.
"Yes. There is no other way to reach the cave of gold. At least notfrom this direction."
The adventurers got through the opening easily, but the mulesexperienced more difficulty. And they did not at all like the idea ofplunging into a dark tunnel.
But finally they were forced through by Joe, who had gone backoutside. Then, with the aid of flashlights, the party proceeded tothread their way in the narrow passage.
"How much of this is there?" asked Joe, when fully five minutes hadpassed.
"At least a mile more," Dr. Rander returned. "It is very long."
But if it were a mile, it seemed to the youths like several times thatmuch, for in the damp, odorous tunnel the time passed very slowly.
"Will we ever reach the other side?" Joe was tiring.
At last the passageway became light, and then an opening loomed up andlet in the fresh air of the outside.
"Hurrah!" Joe was delighted. "But--where are we?"
On all sides of the travelers were towering peaks more lofty than anythey had yet seen. Some of the mountains were narrow and pointed, withsnow at their summit; others were merely huge rounded mounds of rock.All were magnificent, inspiring thoughts of grandeur.
The youths and the old man were on a narrow shelf that was perhapsfive thousand feet above what looked like a tiny winding ribbon ofwater. It passed in and out among the mountains, stretching far out ofsight in the distance.
"That is the Apurimac River," pointed out Dr. Rander, following theboys' eyes. "It turns on northeast and finally comes near MountPanta----"
"That's where Dr. Rust and the other archaeologists are," interruptedBob, and then added: "Wonder if they found any Inca ruins?"
"There are many that we know nothing about," the old explorer said."Peru and the Andes literally teem with
fascinating ruins. Perhapsthere are more treasures, too."
Bob resolved to venture a bold question.
"How did you come to find this treasure cave?" he asked Dr. Rander."If you don't mind telling us."
"Not at all. It might interest you to know that I first found thatvery tunnel that we just passed through." Dr. Rander pointed to theentrance into the passageway, from which they had emerged. "I happenedto be camped not far away from that crevice in the mountainside thatwe first saw. It seemed no different from other cracks, and at first Ithought nothing of it. But when I lingered about awhile I saw thatnear the top the rocks were smoother than I usually found them. Thismade me wonder if the opening were natural or man-made. My curiositygot the better of me and prompted me to go through and see if I couldfind anything unusual. Then I discovered the tunnel."
He paused, apparently finished.
"Then what? Is the cave near us now?" Joe was breathless withinterest.
"The treasure, you mean? No. It is many miles from here. Look,"--hepointed around the mountainside--"see that winding trail? That is asecret known only to us. It alone can take us to the place we'reafter."
Joe sighed submissively.
"The old Andes are too much for me," he said. "I had no idea they wereas large and vast as this."
"You will see even more wonderful sights," Dr. Rander told him. "Andbefore we go many miles farther."
Indeed the boys found much to hold their interest. The awe-inspiringcliffs, the stupendous rocky crags, the foamy river below, thebreath-taking heights--all these held a certain fascination for thetwo youths. They found themselves absently bending their efforts toomuch on seeing the sights and not enough on making out the dangeroustrail.
"Be careful here," Dr. Rander warned, as Joe almost slipped and fell."It surely would not do to roll down this steep slope."
"That would about put an end to everything for me," said Joe with agrim smile.
The trail curved on up the mountainside until it reached a highpointed crag, which had been visible for several miles. Then itgradually circled around until it reached the base of the mountain.
"What's that noise?" demanded Bob Holton, stopping quickly to listento a deep rumbling sound that increased with every moment.
Dr. Rander looked up. Then his eyes opened wide with terror.
"It's an avalanche!" he cried hoarsely. "Tons of rocks are coming downat us!"