CHAPTER III. THE STONE CUBE AND THE OBELISK.
Three weeks later we find Prof. Remington Easy and his exploring partyin the very heart of the great Everglades.
Had they not been possessed of a vast amount of pluck and endurancethey would never have reached this far.
But to turn back was strictly out of the question to them, and this,coupled with the fact that they were completely fitted out for such anundertaking, was the secret of their success.
As Prof. Easy had expected, they found the central position of theswamp less dangerous to traverse. It seemed to be upon higher andmore solid ground, and there was less water, and, consequently, lessalligators to look out for.
It is a beautiful morning upon which we find them camped in a verypicturesque spot.
The air seems purer than at any time since they entered the recesses ofthe unexplored region, and all appear happy and contented.
The stranger and his dog have not been seen during all this time, norhas any other human being, outside of their own party.
Each one of the swamp explorers has lost more or less flesh, though itcannot be said that Martin Haypole’s loss, in that respect, amounts tomuch.
Though a native of the Southern clime, Lucky has suffered the most.
He is worn down to a mere shadow, and had it not been for theprofessor’s store of medicines he would certainly have found a grave inthe swamp.
As it is, he has just about pulled through by the “skin of his teeth,”as the saying goes.
Leo Malvern has just shot a swamp deer, and they are busily engaged inpreparing some of the meat for their breakfast.
“Well, professor,” said the young fellow, looking up from his task, “Ican’t say that we have made any great discovery yet, and I guess we arepretty near the heart of the Everglades.”
“I haven’t given up yet,” was the reply. “Here, examine this and tellme what you think of it.”
He produced a block of stone about two or three inches square from hispocket as he spoke.
Leo laid down the knife with which he was skinning the animal he hadslain, and took the object in question in his hand.
“I found that lying upon the ground a few minutes ago,” went on theprofessor. “Have any of you lost it?”
He was promptly answered in the negative by all hands.
“Nature certainly never formed that,” said Leo. “Ah! there are marksupon it!”
The boy was right. Upon one side of the stone were several cuts,resembling, for all the world, Chinese hieroglyphics.
“That’s very strange,” remarked Dick.
“We are on the eve of a great discovery--mark my words, gentlemen,”said the professor, in a manner of excitement.
“I don’t see why,” ventured the Yankee.
“You don’t? How do you suppose this thing came here, then?”
“Somebody has been here afore, most likely.”
“That’s it, exactly; somebody has been here before, and those who havemust certainly live in this neighborhood. Let us look about and see ifwe can find anything more.”
“Humph!” retorted Haypole; “suppose we do find something. What’ll itamount to, anyhow?”
No one vouchsafed a reply, and leaving Lucky to get the morning mealready, Leo, Dick and the professor began carefully searching about theground.
At length the Yankee became interested, and joined them.
But they looked about the spot where the professor had found the littlecube for full half an hour, and not another thing could they find thatseemed out of the way in the place.
“Well,” observed Dick, as they were called to breakfast, “I would keepthe cube, professor, if I were you, and be very careful not to lose it.”
“Oh! you may rest assured that I will,” was the reply.
After the remains of the breakfast were cleared away, Leo arose to hisfeet and signified his intention of climbing a tree to see how the landlay.
Selecting a good, tall one, which was at the same time easy to climb,he went up.
The tree was nearly a hundred feet high, and the boy did not pauseuntil he reached the top.
Then he prepared to take in the surrounding country.
The sun, which seldom found its way to the ground in the swamp, wasshining brightly all around him, and Leo felt his spirits rise as if bymagic.
“This is fine,” he muttered to himself; “but I can’t see much besidestree tops and cane brakes, after all. But it is worth ten dollars tohave the sun shine on you five minutes like this. Ah, by George!”
He had just turned his gaze in a southerly direction as the words lefthis lips.
No wonder he uttered the exclamation.
Leo Malvern was looking upon something besides trees, cane brakes andpools of muddy water now.
About a mile from the tree in which he was perched he plainly saw astone obelisk, which looked to be in the neighborhood of forty feethigh.
Now, Leo knew this could not have grown there; so, locating the exactdirection, he began descending the tree to notify his companions of theimportant discovery he had made.
“Hurrah!” he shouted, when he reached the ground. “I’ve made thegreatest discovery yet!”
“What is it?” exclaimed the professor, excitedly.
“There is a stone pillar, or something, about a mile south of us.”
“What!”
“Exactly what I say. Come on; we will go to it.”
Even Haypole became very much excited, and he hurried along after Leoas fast as any of his companions.
“I shan’t be astonished at anything we may find,” said Prof. Easy.“Hundreds of years ago it was supposed that a fountain of youth existedsomewhere in these parts; and if that does not, I am sure somethingelse equally as wonderful does.”
They had probably made half the distance to the obelisk, when thebaying of a dog suddenly came to their ears.
“What in thunderation is that?” exclaimed the Yankee.
“It is a dog, if I am not mistaken,” replied Leo. “Be cautious, allhands, there is no use in our running headlong into danger.”
With their weapons ready for instant use, they hurried cautiously aheadthrough the tangled mazes of the swamp.
They did not hear the dog bark again, though they listened attentivelyfor it.
In a few minutes they came in sight of the obelisk that had attractedLeo’s attention from the top of the tree.
It seemed to be very ancient in appearance, for in many places pieceswere chipped from it.
Yet it stood as erect as it had when placed there.
A tangled mass of vines clung to it, half hiding the lower part of it.
After peering carefully about, to make sure that there was no onearound, our friends advanced toward the huge monument of stone.
It was a difficult matter to reach its base, for so dense was theundergrowth that the Yankee had to unsling the ax from his back and cuttheir way through.
At frequent intervals they came to a halt and listened, but not theleast sound could they hear, save the noise they made themselves.
“It is rather queer where that dog went to,” said Dick.
“That’s so,” replied his cousin, shaking his head.
“Somethin’ funny’ll happen putty soon--see if it don’t,” put inHaypole. “I wouldn’t be much surprised to see ther ‘old boy’ jumpouter that big gravestone, an’ put for us. I’ll be ding-wizzened! if Idon’t begin ter feel squeamish.”
“Come; let us force our way through these vines and get at the base ofthe obelisk,” spoke up the professor, pushing his way forward.
A few minutes later all five stood at the foot of the immense shaft,panting and sweating from their exertions.
As they tore the vines aside, they saw it was covered, at regularintervals, with square bits of stone, exactly like the one found byProf. Easy.
“Ah!” exclaimed the learned man, as he saw this; “this cube I foundevidently came from here. Let us see if we can
find where it belongs.”
Leo and Dick quickly produced their knives and began cutting away thevines, while the professor put on his glasses, preparatory to makingthe examination.
They cleared away all around the base, which was about eighteen feetsquare, and just as they finished, Dick’s eye lit upon one of theplaces where a cube was missing.
“Here is the spot,” said he. “Now, professor, let’s see if the one youhave fits here.”
The professor stepped forward and produced the cube from his pocket.
He was just about to place it in the opening when a rifle shot rang outclose at hand, followed by the baying of a dog.
This so startled the man of science that he made an involuntary moveforward, thrusting the cube, as he did so, squarely into the hole.
Almost instantly a hidden door flew noiselessly open, revealing aflight of stone steps, leading downward into the bowels of the earth.
A simultaneous cry of surprise left the lips of the swamp explorers asthis remarkable occurrence took place.
They gazed into the opening for the space of a minute and no one spokea word.
But suddenly they were called to their senses by hearing a wild cry attheir very elbow.
The next moment a man and a dog rushed through their midst and sprangdown the stairway in the base of the obelisk.