CHAPTER XXXVII.
AT BAY.
Ariel flitted so rapidly along the ledge that her lover felt obliged toask her to desist, as he found it difficult to keep pace with her.
The narrow path ascended more rapidly than before, and he saw they weresteadily climbing toward the top of the roof. The shelly support totheir feet, too, became less substantial, crumbling and giving way at arate that threatened the most serious consequences.
He again cautioned the maiden, who seemed to dart over the rocky groundwith the graceful ease of a bird, and without producing any moreeffect, with her dainty sandals.
Suddenly she paused. She had reached the margin or break in the ledge.A chasm, whose black depths the eye could not fathom, yawned betweenher and the support on the opposite side.
"We will make our stand here," said he; "keep behind me--"
He checked himself in astonishment; for, at that moment, she bounded aslightly across as a fawn. He never would have permitted it had hedreamed of her intention; but it was done.
He could only follow, and, gathering his muscles, he ran rapidly theslight distance and bounded from the support.
It was a tremendous leap, and, for one instant, he believed he wouldfail; but he cleared the chasm of breathless darkness and landed on theedge, where, for a single second, he tottered between life and death.
But, at the critical instant, a tiny hand was outstretched, and,seizing one of the fluttering arms, his poise was restored, and hestood firmly by her side.
Even then, as he stepped forward, the ground crumbled and gave way forfully two feet, the debris rattling down the abyss as long as the earcould detect the sound, growing fainter and fainter as it hastenedtoward the far-away bottom.
"There is no one in that party except Ziffak who can leap it now," saidAshman, gazing with a shudder behind him.
By this time the pursuers were close at hand and gaining fast.
The ledge led straight away and upward for a hundred feet, when itterminated at a point in the dome as high as the middle portion. Therethe rocks were piled in irregular masses, and, knowing they could go nofurther, Ashman resolved that the last stand should be made there.
As he hurried onward, another shout fell upon his ear. It was adifferent voice, and he recognized it as Waggaman's, who was leadingthe advance.
The fugitive glanced backward, while toiling up the slope, and saw thatthe white man in his eagerness was fully a rod ahead of the herculeanZiffak, while the rest were stringing along behind him.
He might have wondered how the chieftain contrived to lose so muchground had he not seen him clambering to his feet. It followed that hemust have fallen in his hurry to get forward.
"We have them!" shouted the exultant convict; "there is no escape; theyare cornered!"
The words were yet ringing in his mouth, when he came to a stop.
He had reached the edge of the abyss and might well pause before tryingto leap across.
The fierce king called to him to make the jump. It had been done notonly by the man, but by the girl who preceded him; why should hehesitate?
Spurred by the taunt, the white man withdrew a few paces, and, likeAshman, ran swiftly, the next instant his body rising in air, as hemade the fatal effort.
The American stood coolly watching the result. If the miscreantsucceeded, where it looked impossible, he meant to shoot him. Thus theprospect before the convict could not have been worse.
It was a tremendous leap indeed, and the fellow struck the oppositeledge with his chest, his feet dropping below.
In his furious efforts to save himself, he let go of his weapon, whichwent ringing down the chasm, and seized the ledge with both hands.
Even then, had the ground been firm, he might have succeeded, but itgave way like rotten ice, and, with a shriek of agony, he vanishedforever from the sight of men.
The frightful occurrence brought the pursuers to a halt and gave thefugitives a minute or two in which to prepare for the end.
Ariel, by command of her lover, placed herself behind the rocks andbowlders, where she was secure against any of the missiles, that weresure to be soon flying through the air. Ashman also placed himself sothat all of his body was hidden, except his head and shoulders, but hisWinchester was thrust out, ready for instant use. He was resolved thatno one of the party should leap that chasm and live after reaching theother side.
There were two exceptions, be it remembered, to this resolution.
Ziffak, being next to Waggaman, approached the chasm, where he alsostopped and peered into the impenetrable depth, his dusky face showinga horrified expression at the awful fate that had befallen the foremostof the little party.
Ashman, who was closely watching the chieftain with a natural wonder usto how he would conduct himself (for he did not waver in his faith thatthe giant was still loyal to him), saw him suddenly raise his eyes andgaze at the opposite ledge, which was fully two feet above that uponwhich he was standing.
Haffgo was immediately behind him, and peering under his arms at theopening. There being no room for the two to stand beside each other,this was the nearest position he could secure.
Beyond him the other figures could be partly discerned, all standingmotionless until some way should present itself for their advance.
Ashman observed the chieftain, as his eyes followed the ledge untilthey rested upon him, crouching behind one of the bowlders with hisrifle leveled at the war party.
The two looked into each other's eyes for a single instant, whenZiffak, knowing he could not be seen by any of those behind, contractedhis brows and moved his lips.
He did not speak, for that would have "given the whole thing away," buthis dusky mouth was contorted with such vigorous care that the wordswere understood, as readily as if shouted aloud.
They formed the single sentence,
"_I am your friend!_"
No need of saying that, for, as we have stated, Fred Ashman had neverdoubted it.
Haffgo now began urging his brother to make the leap, which had proventhe death of Waggaman, saying, with reason, that the strength andactivity of the head chieftain of the Murhapas were sure to carry himover where no one else could succeed.
The two talked in their native tongue, but their meaning was so clearthat the American needed no one to interpret the words.
Ziffak replied that he would gladly do so, but for the treacherouscharacter of the other side of the ledge. He showed that considerablehad fallen away, and intimated that the fugitives had loosened it forthe purpose of entrapping all the party just as Waggaman had beenentrapped.
Then the king took another look at the chasm. It so happened thatwhile he was doing this, a large slice of the ledge sloughed off andwent down the abyss, after the miserable wretch who must have beenlying at that moment a shapeless mass far down the fearful gorge.
Haffgo could not gainsay such testimony, and, for the first time, hisface showed an expression of disappointment. It was not the look of abaffled man, but of one forced to see a sweet pleasure deferred.
He had only to peer up the ledge, as it led toward the roof, to realizethat the fugitives were as safely caged as if bound and secured in hisown home.
They had penetrated as far as possible in the cavern of diamonds. Ifthe pursuers could not reach them, neither could they return over thechasm by which they had attained the spot where they still defied him.
The most athletic man living could not leap across that chasm, norcould it be passed until it was bridged artificially, and that couldonly be accomplished from below, where the pursuers were glaringacross. They might erect a structure, if, the king so willed, whichwould open a way of advance; but he was in no mood to care for or thinkof anything of the kind.
Haffgo now talked earnestly for a few minutes to his head chieftain.The latter listened respectfully, nodding his head several times inacquiescence. Then he suddenly looked up the ledge again, steadiedhimself for an instant, and hurled his javelin with ter
rific force atthe head of Ashman.
It was done with such incredible deftness that the American had no timein which to dodge the fearful missile. Had it been accurately aimed,it would have been driven straight through his skull!
But it missed by a hair's breadth, shooting up to the roof, where itstruck the rock with such violence that the head was shattered and theremaining portion fell uselessly down among the rocks.
It was a close call, but Ashman was not frightened; he knew why itmissed him.
He now sighted along the barrel, as if he meant to shoot the chieftain,who instantly ducked his head, and began crowding backward. It was thefirst time King Haffgo had been placed in such a grave situation, andhe was panic-stricken. He turned so suddenly and began crowding to therear so hard, that he came within a hair of precipitating himself andthose immediately behind him from the ledge.
But Ashman did not pull trigger. He could not do so withoutendangering the lives of Ziffak and the king, and as yet the otherwarriors had made no demonstration against him.
But, seeing that the white man did not fire, Ziffak seemed to gathercourage and straightened up again. The king passed his own javelin tohim, and he glared up the ledge as if looking for another favorablechance to launch, it with greater effect than before.
Ashman, who was narrowly watching every movement of his enemies, nowobserved that the warrior directly behind the king, carried a bow andarrow, and he was in the act of fitting a missile to the string, withthe evident intention of trying his hand at the business in which thehead chieftain had failed only a minute before.