CHAPTER XVII.
THE TOLTEC’S STAIR.
Viewed in the cheerful light of the next morning the uncanny happeningsof the night did not have nearly so serious a complexion. In fact bothFrank and Billy were sorely tempted to laugh at Harry, and the latterhimself was also inclined to think that he might have been mistakenabout the figure on the cliff. He even went so far as to admit, under asevere fire of cross-examination that it might,—mind you he only said itmight—have been a monkey.
“He must have been a monkey if he was up where you say you saw him,Harry,” remarked Billy, deftly transferring a slice of sizzling hotbacon from the smoking tin roaster above the camp-fire onto a plateformed of a round of pilot bread, for this conversation took place atbreakfast.
Immediately the meal was concluded the boys, of course, made a rush forthe hole. It still smelled musty and fusty, but the overpowering gaseousfumes of the preceding evening seemed to have vanished. Frank was notgoing to run any risks, however, and under his direction the two otherboys set about collecting a huge pile of dried brush which was shoveddown into the hole with long branches and then a lot of blazing tinderthrown in on top of it. To the boys’ delight the stuff blazed upfiercely and with no indication that the air was too full of gas forcombustion to take place; which was a certain sign that it was healthyto breathe.
Accordingly there was soon plenty of bustling preparation about the campwhile the boys got in readiness for the decisive plunge into theunknown. There were canteens to be filled at a spring that gushed fromthe cliff not far away, firearms to be examined and pockets searched tomake sure that matches in their waterproof boxes had not been forgotten.Last of all, when everything was ready, Frank with an air of triumphproduced half-a-dozen tallow candles.
“Well, you are a wonder,” cried Billy. “Whatever made you think offetching those along?”
“What made the cat stay out of the wet, Master Barnes?” replied Frankmerrily, “Forethought. Of course we have our electric torches,” headded, “but the candles will shed a more diffused light.”
Arrived with their baggage at the edge of the hole there was an excitedcontest between Harry and Billy as to who should enter first. Frankdecided the matter by going himself. With a lighted candle held abovehis head he carefully descended the first of the steps and warned theboys behind him to be cautious, as they had no means of knowing whatsort of a pitfall they might encounter at any moment. For the first fewfeet of course they had the light of day to guide them; and never had itseemed so sweet to them as when, after they had descended about twentyfeet or so, they were plunged into pitchy darkness.
With Frank’s candle shedding a yellow glare about them they descendedfearlessly after him down what seemed to be an interminable staircase.They had so far followed a straight course down with a slight inclinewhich led inward beneath the face of the cliff. The steps were cut deepand wide and, except for the damp slime with which they were covered,the lads had no difficulty in following them or in maintaining afoothold.
“Can’t we light our candles, too, Frank, and have a little more light?”asked Harry suddenly after the little train had descended in silence forsome minutes.
“We’ve got all the light we want,” responded the young leader, “andbesides, we can’t afford to waste illumination. We may need it badlybefore we get through.”
As they got lower the walls of the stairway, as wide as the openingitself where they had entered, began to close in until the boys’ elbowswere rubbing against the walls on either side of them.
“This would be an awkward place to get caught in by anything coming theother way,” remarked Frank, “we couldn’t even turn round.”
His mouth had hardly framed the words when he uttered a sudden shout of“Lookout!”
The next minute the boys felt a great billow of wind coming toward themand a queer rushing sound as of a great river flowing between rocks.Frank’s candle was blown out instantly and they were enveloped in totaldarkness.
Frank and Harry felt their faces beaten against by countless leathernwings and Billy was fairly knocked over by the onslaught,—which hadscared him not a little. It was all over as quickly as it had begunalmost.
“Jimminy crickets, what on earth was that?” demanded Billy, pickinghimself up.
“Bats,” laughed Frank, “no wonder they were in a hurry to get out. Theymust have been imprisoned in here since last that stone swung intoplace.”
“I hope they’ve all taken their walking, or rather flying papers,”commented Billy, sputtering and coughing as were the other boys from theterrific dust the creatures had fanned up with their wings, “anythingmore like that would get on my nerves.”
Frank soon had his candle relit and they resumed their descent. Thestairway did not continue very much further, however. When they hadreached a point which Frank estimated must have been back undergroundabout half a mile from the face of the cliff their feet suddenlyencountered a hard level floor. It was a welcome change from themonotonous downhill march.
“We have a few tons of mountain on top of us now,” remarked Harry, whohad also taken careful note of the direction the stairway followed.
“Yes,” agreed Frank, who had verified his guess of the direction inwhich they had been proceeding by his compass. “Just think of the workthose fellows—or rather their slaves—accomplished when they dug thistunnel through solid rock without powder or dynamite, so far as weknow.”
“It must have been well traveled,” exclaimed Harry, “look here.” Hecalled his brother’s attention to the narrow walls of the stairway bywhich they had descended. They were grooved on each side, at a height ofabout three and a half feet, with a smooth, worn, shallow sort oftrench.
“What did that, do you suppose?” asked Billy.
“Slaves’ elbows, no doubt,” replied Frank, “the thousands of people whomust have used this passage in the dead centuries could easily have wornaway the walls in that manner. Just as,” he continued, “in oldcathedrals you will find the altar steps worn by the knees of thecountless worshipers who have knelt there.”
“Maybe they were bringing out treasure,” hazarded Billy.
“That’s entirely likely,” replied Frank, “in such a case their burdenswould naturally have expanded their arms till they rubbed these groovesin the walls with the passage of time.”
The little party had come to a halt during this conversation, but nowFrank turned to the others.
“We can take our choice,” he said, “of going on or of returning to thesurface and getting together a more complete equipment.”
The unanimous vote was for keeping on, at least for a time, and theChester Expedition under its young leader took up the march again. Now,however, the walls of the level passage along which they were proceedingseemed to have broadened out and they could walk three abreast withoutdifficulty instead of proceeding Indian file as hitherto. The air of thepassage too seemed purer than that of the staircase, and Frank eventhought at times he could detect a cool draught, coming from someunknown outlet possibly. It was, however, insufferably hot; with theclose, ardent heat of a coal mine.
The passage began to take a gentle gradient upward after they hadproceeded along it for about half an hour, and as they pushed on the airgrew noticeably fresher. When Harry held up his candle they could seethat the roof of the passage was dripping with huge stalactites of awhity color that glistened as the flame fell on them. On either side toothey could perceive the wet gleam of the walls. They were still in aconfined place.
They pushed ahead in this manner for perhaps fifteen minutes more whensuddenly Frank stopped short.
“Don’t come a step further,” he cried sharply.
The other boys poured out their questions.
“Hark!” was the only reply vouchsafed by Frank.
As he spoke he poked at the floor of the cave with the tip of his shoeand dislodged a stone. He gave it a kick forward and the boys, withtingling scalps
and a cold shudder down their spines, heard it plungedown—down into unknown depths till the sound died out in a tiny tinkle,and all was silent as a tomb again.
“Phew!” gasped Harry, “that was a narrow escape, how did you detect it,Frank?”
“I came pretty near not discovering it in time,” laughed the youngleader, who now that the danger was over was busy holding his candle atevery angle to see what their surroundings might be, “as luck would haveit, however, my foot dislodged a small pebble just as I was about tostep over into what would have been eternity. I heard it drop down justas you fellows heard the larger one. I guess we’ll have to thank thatlittle bit of stone for saving the life of one of us at any rate.”
“Let’s light up and see where we are?” suggested Harry, after the boys,fascinated by the mystery of the vanishing sound, had hurled dozens ofrocks into the depths.
“I hate to squander the candles, but I suppose we’ll have to,” repliedFrank. “This one of mine doesn’t come near lighting up the place.”
A simultaneous gasp came from the boys as, with all three candleslighted, they peered over into the black gulf that yawned at their feet.It was a huge fissure, possibly twelve feet across, and of unknowndepth. It reached clear from wall to wall of the passage, which at thispoint had broadened out into what Harry called “a regular CouncilChamber.” As if to verify his words the light of the boys’ combinedcandles revealed that the walls were carved with countless figures ofquesals and other hieroglyphics intended apparently to typify theceremony of the sacrifice. Dust and time, however, had done their work,and in many places the figures were chipped away altogether where therock had flaked off.
At the further side of the chasm they could make out a spot of darkerblack against the inky surface of the rock which Frank rightly took tobe the mouth of a continuation of the tunnel.
“Look here, boys” he cried in excitement, pointing across the abyss atthe darker shading that marked the mouth of the entrance of theextension of the passage they had already traversed. “Do you know whatthat means?”
“Well, I suppose it’s another tunnel, but what good does that do us,”grumbled Harry; “unless we can jump this little ditch ahead of us?”
“Not for me,” put in Billy.
“You don’t suppose, do you,” demanded Frank, “that the people who tookall the trouble to build this outlet from the mines or temples orwhatever is at the end of our trip, would have left this chasmimpassable? What would have been the sense of it?”
“That’s so,” rejoined Harry, “but how are we going to find it—if thereis some way of getting over?”
“Look for it,” rejoined Frank quietly and, suiting the action to theword, he approached the other side of the passage. After a brief searchhe uttered a cry of triumph.
“I’ve got it, boys,” he exclaimed, “come here.”
To his wondering young companions he exhibited the lower links of aheavy chain of some sort of metal which was not iron and to which evenFrank could not give a name.
“We’re as good as across,” he exclaimed.
“Well, how does that solve the problem?” demanded Billy.
“How, my bright young reporter,” cried Frank, “did you ever, when youwere at school, swing over a ditch on a rope?”
“Lots of times,” replied Billy wonderingly; “but——”
“That’s what we are going to do here—that is, if the chain is not tooweak from age to bear us,” replied Frank.
“Do you really mean that?” demanded Harry.
“I certainly do,” rejoined Frank.
“Listen!” suddenly cried Billy, “did you fellows hear something?”
They all three paused and listened intently.
From far down in the dark pit that gaped at their feet there came asound that seemed like a long drawn-out sigh.