CHAPTER XXI. THE EARTHQUAKE SHOCK.
Two years had slipped by since the advent of the party into the land ofmystery, and at length the white men left in Hez determined they wouldendeavor to find their companions who had disappeared, and who, theybelieved, were not far distant, but for some reason were prevented fromrejoining them.
Prof. Easy, Haypole and Jones concluded to make an effort to find a wayto get below on a level with the Devil’s Kingdom.
They set out very early one morning, taking the passage that led to thebrink of the latter-named place.
When they arrived there they began carefully studying theirsurroundings, to find a means of descent.
They had scarcely been there ten minutes when a low rumble was heard,coming, it seemed, from beneath them.
“An earthquake!” exclaimed the professor.
The words had hardly left his lips when all three were thrown upon theground by a tremendous shock, which lasted nearly half a minute.
When they rose to their feet, a few moments later, in a half-dazedcondition, a startling sight met their gaze.
The light, which had hitherto been quite bright, was now very dim, andflashed forth in fitful bursts.
But it was enough to enable them to see that a huge pile of rocks hadbeen scattered about, showing a clear passage to the country below.
“If there are no further shocks,” remarked the professor, calmly, “thiswill prove a Godsend to us. It has shown us what we have been lookingfor for so long.”
They waited for perhaps half an hour, and then, as they experienced nofurther signs of another quake, they started down the decline beforethem.
Down they went, until they struck the level of the stream that emergedfrom the Devil’s Kingdom.
Once here, they had no difficulty in discovering footprints made bysomebody who had been there before them.
“Hurrah!” shouted the Yankee. “I knew I was right. We’ll find Leo andDick sure--see if we don’t! These are the prints of the gal’s feet, whobrought Leo here.”
His companions were forced to admit that he was right, and so theyfollowed the trail along the bank of the stream until the falls werereached, and then another descent had to be made.
There was nothing to hinder them from going down, so they did so atonce.
Andrew Jones produced a torch, and was just about to light it, whenHaypole caught him by the arm in an excited manner, and exclaimed:
“Gosh-ding it, look there! It looks like a political torchlightprocession, don’t it?”
He pointed to a spot on their left as he spoke.
About three miles distant they plainly observed a band of men, carryingtorches, emerge from the mouth of a cavernous passage.
“I ain’t got a great deal of money with me, but I’ll be ding-wizzenedif I won’t bet fifty dollars that Leo is in that gang!” said theYankee, producing his pocketbook in a matter-of-fact way.
“I have not got any money, and if I had I would not bet with you,”returned Jones. “I am of the same opinion as you. Let us advance towardthem; we can get near enough to see just who and what they are withoutbeing observed ourselves.”
“Agreed!” exclaimed Prof. Easy; whereupon they set out in the directionof the approaching torchlights.
As they gradually neared them, they saw that there were about thirtypersons marching along, dragging some heavy concern behind them, andcarrying torches.
“Do you know what I am a-goin’ ter do?” said Martin Haypole, comingto a halt. “I am a-goin’ ter fire off my revolver an’ prove that LeoMalvern is in that crowd.”
In an instant he had drawn his revolver and fired a shot.
The echo of the report had scarcely died out when there was ananswering one from the approaching torch bearers.
“Great boots!” yelled the Yankee, jumping about three feet in the air;“what did I tell you?”
Then he opened wide his mouth and led his companions in a deafeningcheer.
In the Wonderful Land of Hez; or, The Mystery of the Fountain of Youth Page 21