The Gilded Man: A Romance of the Andes

  XIV

  THE BLACK MAGNET

  For once Doctor Miranda had nothing to say. To the eager queries ofthose about him he returned a grimace and a scowl of rage. Then he askedsavagely for Mrs. Quayle.

  "There is her neckalace," he said indignantly, letting go his hold onthat extraordinary piece of jewelry and scrambling to his feet with asmuch dignity as was left to him.

  "Will you tell me what all this means?" demanded Leighton sternly.

  "How I know?" retorted Miranda, glaring venomously at him. "I pull theneckalace from the neck, and it fly from me. When I follow, it fly morefast--and it get stronger and it fly harder every time until it touchthe rock. Then it stop and not come loose."

  Sure enough, on the greenish-black rock over which they were bending,the necklace was spread out to its full length. With a quick jerk,Leighton dislodged one of the ends from its resting place. Letting itgo, it returned to its original position with the sharp snap of a steelspring.

  "A magnet! The most amazing magnet ever heard of!" exclaimed Leighton.

  "A magnet that pull gold!" scoffed Miranda. "That is the foolishness!"

  But Leighton was right. Each time the necklace was pulled away it wasdrawn back to the rock by a strong, invisible force. Repeated trialsbrought the same result. Leighton's curiosity was excited as it hadnever been before; but his most careful examination of the strangephenomenon failed to detect anything more than the fact that thesubstance exerting this unknown force was not stone but something morenearly akin to metal. It was neither so heavy nor so hard as iron. Tothe touch its surface faintly resembled the adhesive softness of velvet,although a blow from a stone, causing a clear, ringing sound, leftnot the slightest mark upon it. In the main, this block of metal--orwhatever it might be called--was a deep black, tinged with a variegatedshade of green that played over it according to the angle at whichthe ray from a light held above it was reflected. Dark lines of greenfollowed the indentations traversing its surface. Cylindrical in shape,it weighed, according to Leighton's estimate, at least a ton. Imbeddedin a deep groove around its center was a rope, measuring two inches indiameter, of pliable fiber, resembling the long lianas that festoon thetrees of a tropical forest. This rope lay in a seamanlike coil on theground, with the further end attached to the transverse beam of thescaffolding overhead.

  "It is a magnet, nothing else," reiterated Leighton; "a magnet of a kindutterly unknown to science. All we can say is that this black metal hasan affinity for gold--unless it turns out that Mrs. Quayle's jewelry ismerely iron gilded over."

  This doubt as to the genuineness of the housekeeper's treasures waspromptly denied, however, by Una, who guaranteed their sterling quality.

  "Let us test the rest of her jewelry," proposed Leighton.

  To this further demand on her property Mrs. Quayle, wedged in betweentwo rocks on the path where they had left her, too terrified to move,offered only a feeble protest. It mattered little to her, in her presentcondition, if her bracelets and brooch followed the necklace to theirdoom. One by one they were, accordingly, removed by Una, who, probablybecause she was less excitable than Miranda--and because, too, she hadprofited by his untoward experience in the same undertaking--was able tohandle these pieces of jewelry without mishap. The force with which theywere pulled towards the Black Magnet, however, and the tenacity withwhich they stuck to it, gave ample evidence that they answered to thesame influence that still held the necklace.

  "That is enough," said Leighton triumphantly. "The thing is proved.This is a gold magnet. If we lived in the Middle Ages we would call itthe Philosopher's Stone. The theory that such a substance exists hasattracted scientists who were more given to dreaming than practicalobservation. In this age we have neither looked for it nor believed inthe possibility of its existence. And here it is!"

  "What it make here?" demanded Miranda. "Tied by a rope to themachine--some one use it."

  The inference, logical enough, certainly, increased Leighton'sexcitement. That the magnet was known and used by the inhabitants of thecave--if there were inhabitants--was evident. Under certain conditionsa bar of metal that could attract gold with such force as that displayedby the Black Magnet would be of untold value. Here, where there were noevidences of mining operations, and attached to this primitive machine,it was difficult to explain what it was actually used for.

  Leighton, more and more mystified, determined that the best way to solvethe puzzle was to operate the machine in the manner indicated by itsstructure. It was not, as he pointed out--but as they in their firstexcitement imagined--a gallows. Instead, it was a winch, built in themost simple and archaic fashion; and as the Black Magnet was attachedto it, the evident purpose was to hoist that huge body from the ground.Before testing this theory, Mrs. Quayle, who had recovered from hercollapse sufficiently to join the others, insisted that her jewelryshould be released from the magnet. Suspicious of the intentions ofsome of her companions, she was determined to regain possession of hertreasures at once. But, as it was apparently impossible to wear herjewelry with comfort, or even safety, in the immediate vicinity of theBlack Magnet, necklace, brooch and bracelets were removed to a distantcorner of the corridor and there placed beneath a pile of stones. Thisdone, the four men started to work the two long handles of the winch.At first these were turned with difficulty, the resistance proving, atleast to Leighton's satisfaction, that the machine had not been used fora long time. Gradually, however, the coil of liana was transferred fromthe ground to the transverse beam overhead until it pulled taut with themagnet beneath.

  Then came the real trial of strength. The magnet wouldn't budge.Miranda puffed and grumbled over the task, declaring it impossible.The rest stopped and rubbed their arms ruefully. But Leighton wasinexorable. Encouraging the others, and keeping them at it, by dint ofincreased exertion--to which Una brought additional assistance--thegreat Black Magnet was finally dragged from its moorings and heldsuspended just above the ground. It formed a perfect cylinder, aboutfour feet long by a foot and a half in diameter, and must have weighed,they estimated, considerably over a ton--ten tons, vowed Miranda. Ona winch of modern design this weight would not have been difficult tolift. But the hoisting apparatus they were using lacked the ordinaryadjustments for counterbalancing such weights; hence, the muscular forceneeded proved no small matter.

  "It take twenty men to lift this magnet," growled Miranda.

  "Twenty men could do it more easily than four men and a woman,undoubtedly," replied Leighton. "But four can do it."

  And he was right. Inch by inch the magnet rose from the ground--forwhat ultimate purpose was not very clear, any more than that it wasthought necessary by Leighton, in order to discover the use to whichthis strange bar of metal had been put, first to test the applianceobviously intended to bring it into action. It reached a height of onefoot from the ground, then two, then three feet; then it stopped. Therewere groans and smothered imprecations, and it looked very much as ifthe huge bar of metal would come crashing down to the ground again. Butthe men, urged on by Leighton, did not give in. And then--there was agrating noise, as if some hidden mechanism in the scaffolding had beenset free. After which a strange thing happened. The transverse beamat the top of the windlass detached itself from one of the uprightssupporting it and, using the other upright as a fulcrum, slowly swungto the wall of the cave, where it rested in a socket, bringing themagnet that was suspended from it, directly over a shelf-like projectionbeneath.

  "Keep on! Keep on!" cried Leighton encouragingly. "Now we will see."

  Thoroughly aroused, the others redoubled their exertions. The magnetremained stationary for a few seconds, the liana supporting ittightening with every revolution of the drumhead at which the men werelaboring. Then it slowly disappeared downward, the liana uncoilingitself, thus reversing the movement that before had carried it upward.There was a gradual increase in the momentum of its descent, followedby the splashing sound caused by the impact of a heavy body upon thesurface of a pool of water; after whi
ch the liana was paid out until itreached its full length--when it suddenly slackened and came to a fullstop.

  "There, Mrs. Quayle, is your water," announced Leighton.

  "Water!" sneeringly echoed a voice from the darkness behind them. "Say,rather, there is the secret of Guatavita!"

  "Raoul Arthur!" exclaimed the others.

  Letting go the handle of the windlass, they rushed to the spot where theBlack Magnet had vanished. There, at one side of the rocky projection,stood Raoul, pale and haggard, the light in his lamp extinguished.

  "I suspected this," he said, as if his sudden reappearance among themwere the most natural thing in the world. "I knew from the directionof the path that it led back to the lake. I have been trying to reachthis place for years. Oh, yes! I had heard something about it before--Idon't deny that. But, of course, I expected to stay by you. So, when youstarted to leave the cave I came back, expecting to rejoin you. As I wasexamining the machine I was attacked by two men, thrown to the groundand left unconscious. I came to myself a few minutes ago--in time tocongratulate you, it seems, upon solving the mystery of the cave."

  "That is strange," said Leighton coldly. "You left us, without a word,at a time when you were needed. The attack that you say was made uponyou we should have heard. But--we have heard nothing."

  "Believe me, or not, as you like; it is true," was the sullen reply.

  "Why do you say we have the secret of Guatavita?"

  "Look!"

  Raoul pointed to the projection in the wall behind which the BlackMagnet had disappeared. It was not a shelf, as they had at firstsupposed, but the opening of a shaft, or well, that slanted downwardat an angle that in the course of fifty feet, or less, would reachconsiderably beyond the vertical line of the cave's wall. In shape thisshaft was oblong, slightly larger in length and in breadth than theBlack Magnet. It was evidently of artificial origin, its four wallsbeing perfectly smooth and without irregularities of line. Even by onewho had not seen the magnet descend into this shaft, its intended useas a sort of runway for raising and lowering heavy bodies would bequickly recognized. But where it led to was another matter. One thingwas easily discovered: where it reached a point some twenty feet belowthe level of the cave's floor the shaft was filled with water. Beyondthis, of course, nothing could be made out. It was to the bottom of thepool thus indicated that the magnet had plunged.

  "It is a well hewn out of the rock by Indians--or perhaps by Spaniardsdigging for gold," said Leighton.

  "I believe that we are the first white people who have ever stood inthis place," said Raoul; then added, "unless David Meudon was here threeyears ago."

  "But what is it about?" demanded Miranda impatiently. "What for is themagnet, and this well, and this machine?"

  "Pull up the magnet and see for yourself," was the laconic reply.

  "Caramba! That will be impossible," protested the doctor, not relishingthe prospect of another turn at the machine.

  "It is the logical thing to do," agreed Leighton.

  The rest shared Miranda's aversion to another bout at the winch; butLeighton, backed by Raoul Arthur, finally persuaded them that their onlyhope of escape from the cave depended on keeping at this puzzle untilthey had solved it, and that the first step in this direction was tohoist the Black Magnet from its watery resting place at the bottom ofthe shaft. Reluctantly obeying the command, they again seized the longhandle of the windlass. This time it was fortunate they had Raoul tohelp them, since the resistance offered by the magnet, which now had tobe hauled up an inclined plane by means of a rope nearly one hundredfeet in length, was considerably greater than before. The windlasscreaked and trembled as revolution after revolution of the drumheadslowly brought the great black bar of metal nearer to the surface.They could hear the far off swirl of the water as the ascending lianavibrated through it. Minutes that seemed to lengthen into hours passedwithout appreciable result. Then, at last, they heard the water risingas the magnet reached the mouth of the shaft. There was an additionalstrain on the liana, followed by the noise of a commotion in thesubterranean pool as the liquid streams poured back from the emergingbody.

  But still the end to their work was not in sight. With every turn ofthe handle the weight of the body at which they were pulling seemed toincrease. Mrs. Quayle, sole spectator of what was happening, watchedthe opening of the well with dismal apprehension, convinced that somedreadful transformation had taken place in its hidden depths. When thetop of the magnet finally rose into view she shrieked hysterically. Toher notion the great black body had an uncanny look; it had turned intoa devil, for aught she knew, filled with evil designs against them.Anything that was supernaturally horrible, she believed, could happen inthis cave--and there was enough in her recent experiences, indeed, togive some color to her belief.

  But, devil or djinn, the water dripped and splashed in sparkling runletsfrom the shining body of the Black Magnet that had gained in lustersince its submersion in the well. It seemed more alive than before, morecapable of exerting the mysterious force that had played such prankswith Mrs. Quayle's jewelry. As it cleared the top of the well the arm ofthe windlass to which it was hung, as if obeying some invisible signal,detached itself from the socket in the wall and slowly swung back intoits original position between the two uprights of the machine. Here, asbefore, a reverse motion took place. The Black Magnet was poised for amoment in the air. It then descended to the ground, resting, finally, inthe same spot where the explorers first discovered it.

  A sigh of relief escaped them. Hoisting heavy weights was not much totheir taste and they were glad the task was over. Then they rubbedtheir eyes, half expecting to see something miraculous, some suddentransformation as a result of their labors. But the Black Magnet, exceptfor the brilliance due to its bath in the depths of the earth, lookedexactly as it was before. This, it must be confessed, was disappointingto those who had been promised great rewards for toiling so patiently atthe windlass. Raoul had declared the experiment would solve the secretof Guatavita. But they failed to see how a wet rock--or bar of metal,whichever it might be--with mud sticking to it, had any connection witha secret. Raoul, however, was not disconcerted. Getting to work on themagnet, he examined minutely every inch of its surface. At first hefound nothing. Then, to the amazement of the others, he extracted fromone of the large fissures in the magnet a thin disc encrusted withthe microscopic growths that form on metals that are long subjectedto the action of water. This disc proved its metallic nature by theforce needed to release it from the magnet. Much of the brown mattersticking to it was wiped away with a cloth, the more tenacious growthbeneath was rubbed and scraped with a sharp stone. When the scouringwas finished Raoul triumphantly held up the disc. It was a dazzlingplate of gold, thin and flexible, rudely carved to resemble a humanbeing. In size it was not more than the palm of one's hand, somewhat ofthat shape, a trifle longer and narrower, with a projection, intendedto depict a man's head, face and neck, like a pyramid standing on itsapex, upon which were traced in embossed lines three loops to representthe mouth and eyes, with another line running down the middle, long andstraight, to represent the nose. The body of the figure was similarlycarved--raised lines folded over the stomach for arms, with variousloops and coils around the neck and chest, intended, doubtless, toindicate the ornaments and insignia of rank worn by the image or,rather, the human being or god for which it stood. All this was done inthe finest gold tracery, which, if it lacked some of the subtleties ofthe goldsmith's art as we know it, was expressed, nevertheless, withadmirable delicacy and firmness. In the head of the figure was a roundhole showing, doubtless, that the disc was worn as a pendant by itsowner, or was hung as a votive offering before his or her householddeity.

  Leighton had seen figures of like character and workmanship in Bogota,where they were exhibited as ornaments worn by the ancient Chibchas.Usually they were said to have been brought up by divers from the bottomof Lake Guatavita. Hence, there was little doubt as to the origin andantiquity of the disc presented to them by
the Black Magnet. But howthis disc came to be at the bottom of a well in this vast subterraneanlabyrinth was not so easily answered. If this disc was the much talkedof clew to the lost treasure of the Chibchas, and to all the othermysteries that seemed to crop up at every step the further they wentinto this cave, it was not an easy one to run down. And then, Miranda,who had insisted all along that by following the direction in which theyhad been going they were bound to reach the lake, blundered upon theanswer to the whole question.

  "It is Guatavita!" he said.

  Of course, that was it! Herran and Leighton gasped for a moment as theytook in the idea, and then they agreed that Miranda was right. Raoulsmiled enigmatically as they discussed the problem in detail.

  "Well, do you understand it now?" he asked. "Have you discoveredGuatavita's secret? I wish I had known it three years ago!" he addedbitterly.

  "Ah! I see--I see!" shouted the doctor excitedly. "There is the wellthat come out at the bottom of the lake. Here is the magnet that go downthere just when the people throw in all the gold. And then it come backhere--and no one know except the king and his family. So, every year,they take all the gold of the country. Ah! they are very wise leetlefellows, those kings!"

  "Then, if this is true," said Leighton meditatively; "if this well hasits outlet at the bottom of the lake, and was made and used secretlyto collect, by means of the Black Magnet, the treasure offered by thepeople in the Feast of El Dorado, to-day there is no gold left inGuatavita."

  "If it were drained of all its waters," remarked Raoul, "I believe thatthe emptied basin would be found to contain nothing more than a fewstray gold ornaments--like the one you fished up just now--that failedto reach the Black Magnet when they were flung into the lake centuriesago."

  "Your plans to empty the lake, then, are useless?"

  "After what I have learned to-day, added to what I have long suspected,I should say--quite useless."

  "But the fabulous amount of treasure those deluded people threw into thelake for centuries----?"

  "Has all come up here, where we are standing now, caught by the BlackMagnet."

  "He fish very well, this leetle stone," said Miranda, caressing itfondly. "He catch more, better fish than the whole world."

  "Where is all that gold to-day?" demanded Leighton.

  "Ah! Where!"

  "Good heavens! What is that?"

  While Leighton and Raoul were discussing the old problem of what becameof the Chibcha Empire's far-famed treasure, the others had wandered awayfrom the Black Magnet and were examining some of the strange objects inits immediate vicinity. The more familiar they became with this portionof the cave, the more signs they saw in it of human occupation. For onething, the place was honeycombed with paths, most of them radiatingfrom the shaft that sank to the bottom of Lake Guatavita. These pathsled in different directions; but there was no way of telling whetherany or all of them had been recently used. This question was of moreimmediate interest than the one connecting the cave with the fate ofthe ancient Chibchas. If this cave was inhabited to-day--if it was thehiding place of a lawless gang of Bogotanos, for example--it was wellfor the explorers to be on their guard. Herran was particularly aliveto this possibility, and he was quick to heed, therefore, Mrs. Quayle'sterrified exclamation, which she repeated--

  "Good heavens! What is that?"

  It was at the head of one of the paths, running behind the close ranksof stalactites before which they had found their way from the large opencave beyond, that Mrs. Quayle stood, her eyes round with excitement,pointing vaguely at something in front of her. But the others couldsee nothing. Indeed, it was hard to tell whether she had really seenanything worth serious investigation, her chronic nervousness had suchan uncomfortable habit of discovering specters--that did not exist--inevery dark corner. Then, too, clusters of stalactites had a way oftaking on odd, fantastic shapes that might easily seem to be aliveeven to the cool-headed. But this time there really was substance toMrs. Quayle's fancies. She continued to point down the pathway ofstalactites, crying repeatedly--

  "What is that?"

  "Well, what is it?" demanded Leighton.

  "The man in the toga! The man in the toga!" she cried breathlessly.

  The others crowded about her.

  "It is nothing!" said Miranda incredulously.

  "It is! It is!" whispered Una. "I just caught the flash of white draperyat the bend in that farthest corridor."

  Raoul laughed. "You are mistaken," he said. "Nothing is there now,that's certain."

  They stood silently watching the dark green-and-white figures thatstretched away in closely huddled ranks before them. But they coulddetect nothing that answered to Mrs. Quayle's description. There wasnothing that moved, nothing human, in all that glittering array ofgrotesque forms. Then, there was a sharp, clinking sound, as if thebrittle point of a stalactite had been broken off and had fallen to theground.

  "We are watched," said Leighton in a low voice. "Whoever they are, thesepeople have some reason for following us--and keeping out of the way."

  "Time to be on our guard," said Herran in Spanish to Miranda, whoassented vehemently.

  "Nonsense!" exclaimed Raoul.

  "Ah! You say that?" growled Miranda suspiciously. "This is one trap ofyours, then!"

  The accusation added to the general alarm. Raoul protested scornfully;but before he had time to clear himself he was covered by two hugerevolvers, drawn simultaneously by Herran and Miranda.

  "It is not so easy!" threatened Miranda, whose excited flourish offirearms endangered the others quite as much as it did Raoul.

  "Thank heaven, we have guns!" murmured Andrew, who had produced aharmless looking pocket-knife which he brandished ineffectively.

  "This sort of thing is very annoying," said Leighton, addressingRaoul, who began to show uneasiness. "There's no denying that yourdisappearance was suspicious. Then we find you here in a place thatis evidently known and frequented by others. Your explanation isunsatisfactory. Then, when the presence of these hitherto invisiblepeople is quite certain, you try to divert our attention from them."

  "You are talking nonsense," said Raoul disgustedly. "You intimate that Iam in league with the inhabitants of this cave against you. That means,I must have lured you here deliberately to do you harm. Please rememberthat it was you who planned this expedition, and that I had not venturedin here so far before."

  "Who knows! You seemed familiar enough with the secret of the BlackMagnet."

  "Take us out of here, my fellow, and we believe you are not one scamp,"said Miranda brusquely.

  "I am not bound to do anything of the kind, even if I could," retortedRaoul. "Look out for yourselves."

  "So! that is good," commented Miranda. "We take the advice. Here we cando nothing. Into Guatavita we cannot jump through this well. Me--I amtoo fat!"

  The bustling doctor's show of energy proved infectious. He and Herranunceremoniously pocketed their revolvers, leaving Raoul at liberty to doas he pleased, while they looked about for a way of escape.

  Since he had become suspicious of Raoul, Leighton was inclined totrust the leadership of the two South Americans. The latter, convincedthat there was no way out from this part of the cave, determined to goback to the central chamber, hoping to find there the entrance to thetunnel leading to the outside world. They hit on this plan because theyfeared an ambush on any of the labyrinthian trails leading off in otherunexplored directions. The rest agreeing, they set out along the pathflanked by the grove of stalactites, traveling at a quicker pace butwith greater caution than before. Miranda and Herran marched ahead withrevolvers drawn, Andrew in the rear still holding his pocket-knife readyfor action. They had been delayed on Mrs. Quayle's account, for thatlady, in spite of her anxiety to get away, had refused to budge withouther jewelry. But it was not easy to satisfy her demand. For, when thejewelry was taken from its hiding place beneath a rock, it still showedthe same strong tendency to fly to the Black Magnet. This distressedMrs. Quayle, who refused to touch the
treasures that she was at thesame time loath to part with. But a compromise was finally effected bytying all the jewelry securely around Andrew's waist. This arrangementappeased the owner--but it gave an uncomfortable backward pull toevery step the schoolmaster took, who thus resembled, in walking, aship sailing against the wind. This inconvenience, however, steadilydecreased as they came out of the disturbing region of the Black Magnet,until finally these ancient heirlooms of Mrs. Quayle's regained theirnatural composure.

  But there were other things besides the Black Magnet to interrupttheir progress. No sooner had they gotten well under way and werecongratulating themselves on their escape from mishap so far, than theywere startled by a wild and piercing strain of music, seeming to comefrom the grove of stalactites before which they were hurrying. Amazedby so singular an interruption, they stopped short and looked fearfullyabout them. A sound of scornful laughter blended with the music.

  "Raoul!" muttered Leighton.

  But there was nothing to be seen of the strange American whose mockinglaughter they were sure, nevertheless, they had heard. Then the musicgrew louder and louder, as if the musicians were steadily approachingin their direction. The music itself was subtly different, in toneand pitch, from anything played in the outside world. The high notesevidently came from wind instruments, but of a unique quality andcaliber. Mingling with these notes, and sustaining the bass, were theheavy beatings of drums of the kind still used, although deeper andmellower, by the native Indians in their festivals.

  The melody produced--if it could be called a melody--was of anextraordinary character. Its effect, its charm--for it had unmistakablecharm--was quite impossible to define. In some respects it resembled themonotonous chantings peculiar to most primitive races, occasionally,as was customary with the latter, rising and falling, whole octavesat a time, in a wailing key. In the main, it carried a sort of theme,emotional and inspiring, that was far too complex to be attributedto the uncultivated musical taste common to savagery. There was anexultant swing to the measure, a lilting cadence that betrayed afine esthetic sense, a rich imagination coupled with the simplicityand freedom that has not felt the pressure, except very remotely,of our western civilization. Such music was good to listen to--andunder ordinary circumstances the explorers would have been contentto listen and nothing more. But curiosity, and some remnant of fearthe lulling influence of the music had not dissipated, kept them onthe alert. Their fate depended, they felt, on these musicians. Theymust find out who they were before it was too late to retreat. Andthen--presently--through the clustering green and white stems of thestalactites, they caught sight of them.

  They were over twenty in number, moving, as nearly as the unevennessof the ground would permit, in time to the choral march they wereplaying. At sight of them Mrs. Quayle didn't know whether to be pleasedor terrified. For the music was such an enchanting, soothing sort ofthing, and the players so mild, benignant of aspect, anything like fearseemed out of place. But, on the other hand, the strange instrumentsthey carried, their outlandish dress, the whole effect of them, in away, was distinctly unearthly, supernatural--and Mrs. Quayle drew theline at the supernatural. So, she ended by being simply amazed beyondmeasure--and her companions shared her feelings in lessening degree.Miranda and Herran, dumbfounded by the apparition, forgot to handletheir revolvers in the warlike fashion they had intended with the firstapproach of a foe; Andrew gaped in an open-mouthed sort of dream, duringwhich his pocket-knife came imminently near doing fatal execution uponhimself, while Una and Leighton, forgetting their anxiety, were lost inadmiration of the delicious music and of the spectacle before them.

  One and all of this singular band of cavemen were clothed after thefashion described by Andrew. Each wore a loose white mantle, or toga,that draped the figure in voluminous folds, adding to the grace andfreedom of movement with which they kept time to the music. Their feetwere shod with sandals, their heads encircled with bands of white clothfrom the flying ends of which hung ornaments of gold and emerald. Themusical instruments upon which they played were long, slender tubes,curving upward at the extremity, of a metal that glittered and sparkledlike the purest gold.

  Most singular of all was the light that each of these musicians carried.This light came from neither torch nor lantern, but radiated in sparksand flashes from oval disks worn, jewel-wise, on the breast. By whatfuel these incandescent fires were fed was not apparent. They burnedwith a clear white brilliance, illuminating each flowing figure withstartling vividness, and filling the beholder, ignorant of theirnature, with wonder at their admirable adaptability to the needs of asubterranean world.

  To Leighton these strange lights were much more mystifying than allthe rest of the apparition--for as yet it was difficult to regard theapproaching throng as being anything more real than an apparitionthat one expects to have vanish away almost as soon as it makes itsappearance. But these musicians, weird and unearthly though they firstseemed when seen at a distance, as they drew nearer, proved to besubstantial, flesh-and-blood human beings right enough. Their darkskins and aquiline features gave evidence, for one thing, that theywere of Indian origin and not inhabitants of the remote, invisiblefairyland that they appeared to the fervid imaginations of some ofLeighton's companions. Doubtless, argued the savant, they were a bandof revelers--or bandits--from the city to whom the secrets of the cavewere familiar. But where they had picked up such extraordinary means forthe illumination of their merry-making was more than he could fathom.Lights? They were unlike any lights he had ever heard of. All that hecould make of it was that these illuminated disks belonged to themarvels of a hitherto unknown world of science, marvels among which hecounted the Black Magnet and--possibly--that disappearing wall at theentrance to the cave.

  As these people showed no sign of hostility, the explorers began to hopethat through them they would win their way out of the cave. Certainly,they were worth cultivating with this end in view. Hence, Miranda andHerran looked stealthily at their revolvers and restored them as quicklyas possible to their hip-pockets, while such a burst of confidenceseized Mrs. Quayle that she prepared and was actually seen to exhibitone of her most ingratiating smiles for the benefit of the approachingIndians, at the same time expressing in a loud voice to Una her approvalof their music.

  This pleasant feeling, however, that they were about to regaintheir liberty did not last long. The Indians, although showing nounfriendliness, gave unmistakable evidence that they meant to controlthe movements of the explorers. Still playing on their trumpets andbeating solemnly on their drums, they marched around them, bowingcourteously enough, but intimating at the same time that they wereacting upon a definite plan that could not be interfered with. Somewhatdashed by this singular behavior, which was the more difficult to meetjust because it lacked outward menace, the explorers conferred hastilytogether, hoping to hit on a safe line of action. The men of the party,suspicious of the friendly attitude assumed by the Indians, favoredimmediate resistance. Their first flush of confidence in them was gone.Herran and Miranda, especially, were doubtful of the intentions ofthese strange people. From whatever motive, it seemed to them that thelatter had deliberately planned their capture, evidently carrying out inthis the orders of some one in authority over them. That these ordersmight come from Raoul Arthur was their principal cause for alarm. Thedeparture of the American miner, under every appearance of treachery,marked him out as one to be feared. He was not, it is true, among theIndians who were surrounding them in their glittering line of dancers,but his absence was not proof that he had nothing to do with this odddemonstration. But--how resist a party so superior to their own innumber, one that had already gained an obvious advantage of positionover them. Leighton was doubtful what to do; Andrew was helpless; Mrs.Quayle was temporarily lost in admiration of the picturesque circleof dancing figures, all regarding her with gratifying amiability. Unaalone insisted that the friendliness of the Indians was genuine, andthat their own safety depended on obeying them. As a compromise it wasdecided to talk to these peo
ple--to find out what they were after. Forthis diplomatic duty Miranda and Herran were chosen.

  Although the energetic little doctor was certainly not gifted with anunusual amount of tact, he had at least the merit of directness, andlost no time in calling the attention of the dancers to his desire tocome to an understanding with them.

  "Do you talk Spanish?" he shouted brusquely in that language.

  "Surely, Senor Doctor," gravely replied a tall personage whose dignityof bearing and the fact that the border of his flowing toga wasdistinguished by a decorative design in embroidered gold indicated hissuperiority in rank over his comrades. "Surely, some of us talkSpanish."

  Having given this assurance, the speaker checked the music and dancingof the others and stood, with the air of one accustomed to ceremonioususage, waiting to hear further from Miranda.

  "Yes, I am doctor, famous doctor," said the latter, bustling up tothe speaker and looking him over as if he were about to claim him formedical purposes. "I cure thousands and thousands with my pills. But howyou know I am doctor?"

  The Indian smiled, inclining his head graciously before answering.

  "Doctor Miranda is so famous every one knows him."

  Ordinarily the vanity of Miranda was easily touched, but just now he wastoo suspicious to be beguiled by the compliment.

  "Caramba!" he snorted; "and who are you?"

  "I am Anitoo."

  "That is not Spanish," said Miranda sharply.

  "I am not Spanish," replied Anitoo stiffly. "I come from an ancient racethat ruled here long before there were any Spaniards."

  "Well, Senor Anitoo--you say it is Anitoo?--that may be. You areIndian--Chibcha Indian, perhaps--and not Spanish, not Colombian. Butwhat do you make in this cave?"

  Anitoo smiled broadly.

  "This is the home of my people for many centuries," he said. "And now,suppose I ask you a question. What do you make in this cave?"