E. Miller In The Tiger's Lair

1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 978-3-98826-061-1
Verlag: OTB eBook publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 179 Seiten

Reihe: Classics To Go

?In The Tiger?s Lair? is the story of the return of Stanley Livingston and Ted Boyle to the Andes Mountains of Peru to complete their search for the hidden treasure of the Incas. It is a separate and complete story in itself?one may read and understand it without having read ?The Hidden People.?

Autoren/Hrsg.

E. Miller, Leo

Leseproben

CHAPTER I
THE END OF THE UNDERGROUND RIVER
Two years had passed since that day when Stanley Livingston and Ted Boyle, accompanied by the giant negro, Moses, faced the perils of the underground river rather than suffer a lingering death on the dismal shores of the lagoon beyond the wall at Uti. Having finished their course at college, Livingston and Boyle, or Stanley and Ted, as they were better known, had decided upon a novel way of spending a few months’ vacation before entering their more serious professional careers. They went to look for the hidden treasure of the Incas that was known to lie somewhere in the vast ranges of the Andes Mountains of Peru. They well understood the difficulties of such an undertaking; there were snow-clad peaks to climb and steaming jungles to penetrate, and dangerous animals and still more formidable wild people to combat. But all these things simply added to the attraction of the venture. They had gone in quest of adventure, and their desire was gratified beyond their wildest expectations. Shipwreck, the burning thirst of a desert land, battles with fierce monkey-men, and the dread fevers of the lowlands were their lot during the first months of the journey. Then—the Hidden Valley where the Inca Huayna Capac lived and ruled the remnant of the once-great nation in all the magnificence and splendor of ancient times. The great king received them, not unkindly, made them princes, and surrounded them with every luxury. From the beginning, however, Quizquiz, son of the Inca and heir to the throne, had conspired against them, and in the end he had succeeded in securing their conviction on the charge of treason. They were condemned to exile beyond the great wall that divided the valley from Uti, the abode of the evil spirits. It was Timichi, previously banished to the dismal place, who showed them the gold-filled cavern where the vast treasure reposed and who later pointed out to them the underground river just as all hope of escape seemed gone. They had accepted the last, desperate chance and had emerged in the outer world rich in gold and in experience. And now, after a period of two years, they found themselves back in the drooping wilderness, encamped at the outer end of the underground river, preparing to remove the vast treasure their former efforts had revealed. “We might have left this place only yesterday, so far as appearances are concerned,” Stanley said as they stood on the edge of the open, park-like place flanked by the abrupt cliffs on one side and the heavy jungle on the other. “Everything looks just the same as it did then. The deer are grazing just as peacefully and—I distinctly remember seeing that one with the lame fore leg. It speaks well for the neighborhood; the monkey-men have not invaded it yet, or the deer would not be so tame.” “Yes, it surely does not seem as if two years have passed since we were here. The only thing lacking is Moses, but that is not our fault. We tried our best to find him. But, I wish we had him just the same, because we need him.” “Poor old Moses. I miss him too. He saved our lives, and no one but a giant like him could have done it. But for him we should never have gotten out of the valley. If we ever succeed in locating him we shall have to divide up the gold we are going to get now. He shared all the hardships and he is entitled to a share of the spoils.” “You are right, and no matter how much we give him we shall always be in debt to him for what he did for us.” They started across the open plot toward the little stream that wended its way through the centre. The deer stopped grazing, looked up at them with startled eyes, and then bounded into the protecting forest. When the men reached the watercourse, they followed it to the base of the stone escarpment, the top of which was hidden by the belt of yellowish, poisonous vapor that served as such an effectual barrier between the outer world and the Hidden Valley. Laving the foot of the stone wall was the pool, and opening into it was the black cavern that in reality was the mouth of the underground river. “One would hardly suspect it of being such a magic river to-day,” Ted said, throwing himself on the short grass; “the water is flowing neither way; it is standing still. Wonder what Timichi would say to that, were he alive; but I have no doubt he has been dead a good many months.” “He clung to life a number of years even in that awful place, but I, too, think he must be dead now. He was nearly gone when we left him. Too bad there was nothing we could do for the poor fellow.” They returned to camp and began to prepare supper. “Our provisions should last several weeks, not counting on the game we can get here,” Stanley observed as he looked over the supplies. “In that length of time we can bring out all the gold any one could possibly desire. We have only to hide it inside of sacks of ivory nuts, of which the jungle is full around here, cache it, and then one of us can stay on guard while the other goes back to Cuzco for peons to carry them out. No one will ever suspect.” “It’s all so simple. And there is not a chance of failure,” Ted remarked between mouthfuls. “Just think, there are millions in gold on the other side of that wall, and it is all ours for the mere taking. Let’s do the job as quickly as possible; I want to get back home to make use of my wealth.” “Don’t be too sure,” Stanley cautioned. “You know we haven’t got it yet.” “But it is there. We know that, because we saw it and helped ourselves to all we could carry. And we know how to get in and out of the place too. So this one time I am dead sure that as much gold as we want will be ours in a few weeks, and I for one am going to treat myself generously.” Remembering Moses’ experience with the deadly bushmaster, they made no attempt to sleep on the ground. But, going into the forest, cut a number of stout poles and, tying the tops together to form tripods, slung their hammocks between them for the night. Their first thought on the following morning was to see if there was any perceptible current in the river; but to their disappointment they found that the water was stationary, as before. “Looks as if we might have to paddle the rafts through. We could do that easily enough if necessary, but it would help a good deal if the water were flowing in the right direction. But why worry? It will take at least two days to make the rafts, and by that time the current will doubtless set in again.” They now began to work in earnest. Near the lower end of the open space where the river entered the forest, clumps of tall bamboo dotted both banks. Some of the great, jointed stems were fully eight inches in diameter and fifty feet high. Chopping them down and cutting them into ten-foot lengths was hard work, for they had only their machetes, or brush-knives, with which to work. Also, as each joint was full of water it had to be tapped and drained, after which the openings had to be plugged up again with gum; this made the stalks light and buoyant. They carried them to the water, one at a time, and lashed them together to form rafts. This required more time than they had anticipated; in fact, four days passed before the two were completed. “How much gold do you intend to take from the cave?” Ted asked one day when their task was nearly finished. “As much as I can, of course. These rafts will carry several hundred pounds each in addition to our own weight, and we can make a dozen trips, or even more.” “A ton for each is not too much. It is remarkable how much the yellow metal is worth. When we were here before, you guessed that each of our packs contained about ten thousand dollars’ worth, and you were nearly right. We got almost eleven thousand apiece, and the emerald necklaces were appraised at double that. I should not wonder but that there are many precious stones in the cave, too, hidden among the gold.” “All the better for us. They are not so bulky or heavy. Think of all the good we can do when we get back home.” “Yes! I intend to be very liberal with a certain college I think a lot of.” “Hospitals is my hobby. You shall see.” When the rafts were all ready they pushed them along the bank, and up to the mouth of the underground river. “It is strange that the water does not move,” Ted said, looking puzzled. “It looks black and stagnant—as if it has been standing still a long time.” “Do not let that trouble you. If it does not flow by to-morrow morning we shall paddle through the tunnel. We have been through it before and know the way. Besides, we are well supplied with flash-lights now. There is nothing to it, so why worry?” They hewed short, broad-bladed paddles out of a cottonwood branch and carefully covered all the things they did not intend to take with them on the following day with broad palm-leaves, to protect them if it rained. When dawn came, it found them on their rafts, paddling into the mouth of the cave. Once inside, Stanley switched on one of the lights that had been tied to the front of his raft, and the bright glare revealed a passage from ten to twenty feet wide with an uneven ceiling of jagged rock fifteen feet above their heads. Swarms of bats, frightened by the unusual visitors, left their hiding-places overhead, and with a flutter of wings dashed out of reach of the circle of light and disappeared. “We have been going over half an hour now,” Ted said, looking at his watch. “Of course we have not made very...