The Peril Finders

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

  IN THE STONE AGE.

  The experiment was tried next day. A bucket, loaded with stones heavyenough to sink it, was lowered down the black-looking pit, and was drawnup again nearly full of water. This was given to the nearest grazinganimals, and the bucket sent down again, to catch against someprojecting block and tilt out the ballast, after which it refused tosink, but made a jerk or two to escape, and then had to be drawn out.

  Fresh stones were put in the bottom, and again were tilted out, but theresult of another trial from a little different spot resulted in thevessel's coming up full.

  More trying resulted in the adventurers finding that they could dependupon obtaining about five bucketfuls out of a dozen trials, and withthis they were content.

  An attempt to reach the first terrace was now made, and this did notprove to be so difficult as it appeared from below, Chris finding a spotwhere the rock-face was a good deal broken away and proposing to try andclimb it.

  The doctor hesitated.

  "What about the snakes?" he said.

  Chris started, looked up, and then looked down, to see that Ned's eyeswere fixed upon him, and he turned red.

  "A snake couldn't climb up there!" he said sharply.

  "No," said his father, "I should doubt whether one could; but there isevery probability that one or many might have come down from above."

  "Bother!" exclaimed the boy, and he hesitated for a few moments beforesaying, "If one did fall, or come creeping down one of those greatcracks, perhaps, it wouldn't stop there. Snakes want something to eat,and there doesn't seem to be anything to live on up there. Wouldn't itcome down lower, after all?"

  "Possibly," said the doctor, laughing. "You want to venture?"

  "Yes, father."

  "Very well, go. But take a good stick with you--say such a piece ofsapling as Griggs carried, only much shorter, and use it well as yougo."

  Chris nodded, and without asking the American, hurried off to cut such apiece as he required, ending by trimming it well and leaving quite asmall bush-like tuft of green at the end.

  "You mean to go, then?" said Ned quietly.

  "Yes. Will you come with me?"

  "No," said Ned, wincing. "I hate snakes."

  "Not half so much as I do."

  "Yes, I will. I'll come too."

  "Like to go first?" asked Chris mischievously.

  "N-yes, give me the stick. I can climb up there as easily as you can.Well, why don't you give me the stick?"

  "'Cause I want it myself, lad. No, thank you; I'm going to have thehonour of sweeping down all the rattlers as I go up. You'd better standback out of the way, in case I should send a big one down. You canshoot it then."

  "Some one else will have to do that," said Ned, in an off-hand way, tohide his nervousness. "I shall be close behind you."

  "Then you mean to come?"

  "Of course."

  "That's right, old chap. I say, Ned, I don't believe there'll be any,after all."

  "Think not?"

  Chris nodded. Then laughingly--

  "We've got to chance it all the same. Come on."

  Chris led the way, with his piece slung, revolver and knife in belt, andthe pine staff in his hand, when Griggs took a step forward, with hiseyes twinkling.

  "I say," he cried, "it's hardly fair for us if you get chivvying thoserattlers and sending them flying over the edge and down here."

  "Oh, you must take your chance about that," said Chris merrily.

  "Be careful, my boy," said the doctor.

  "What, about the rattlers, father?"

  "Of course; but I meant where you place your feet. Many of the stonesare rotten and loose."

  "We'll mind," said Chris, and he began to climb, raising himself a stepor two, and then striking sharply in amongst some growing plants, beforethrusting his staff up in front of him and drawing himself up again.

  This he kept on repeating, and without much difficulty climbed somethirty feet, before an awkward place came like a check, caused by a bigstone having fallen, leaving a good-sized cavity.

  "Look out now, Ned," he said softly. "Here's a hole that may hold one."

  "All right," was the reply, and as Chris planted his feet firmly, one ina hole and the other on a projecting stone, Wilton uttered a warningword or two, which the boys were too busy to heed.

  "It's a bigger place than I thought," said Chris, taking fast hold of astone with his left hand and advancing his tufted staff with his right,as he stood well upright, bringing his head above the edge of the hole."It was built-up once, for the stones were square, and it goes in quitedeep. Now, then, look out for a big one."

  He leaned a little on one side, thrust in the stick, and gave it a sharprattle round in different directions, when to his horror there was arush which nearly made him loosen his hold before he realised what hadhappened. But fortunately he held on, and in an instant the alarm anddanger had passed away. For the occupants he had disturbed proved to besome half-dozen huge bats, which fluttered out, squealing, and made forthe opposite side of the depression.

  "Phew! How they smell! Cockroachy," cried Chris. "I say, father,there are not likely to be snakes here now."

  "No," said the doctor. "If there were I should not think that you wouldhave found the bats. But be careful."

  Chris said nothing, but climbed right into the hole.

  "Here, come on, Ned," he cried; "this isn't a hole made by some stonefalling over; it's quite a little chamber, with--What's that?" headded--"A chimney?"

  A minute's investigation proved that it was no chimney that had takenhis attention, but a sloping shaft with plenty of room for a man to passupward, and the way made easy by projecting stones.

  "You are not going in there?" said Ned anxiously, as he stood closebehind.

  "But I am. Come and look. You can see daylight. Why, Ned, it's theway up to the first terrace. Come on."

  Chris stepped in, and with his curiosity aroused, Ned followed, just asBourne's voice came from below, with the question--

  "What are you boys doing? Mind how you climb above that hole. You hadbetter get a little to the right."

  "No, we hadn't," said Chris, who was half up the shaft. "Don't speakyet, Ned. Come on; it's quite easy."

  Ned followed, and came in for plenty of dry dust and chips as Chrisclimbed on, to find himself directly after in a cell-like chamber,evidently cut out of the solid rock.

  "Ahoy! Where are you, boys?" cried the doctor, in an anxious tone ofvoice.

  "You look out of the window-opening," said Chris; "I'm going to lookdown out of this," and passing as he spoke through a low opening, hestood in the middle of another cell-like place.

  They were saluted with a shout.

  "No snakes, then?" said Griggs.

  "I don't think so. None here," cried Chris. "Are you all coming up?"

  There was no need to answer, for Griggs was already leading the way, andas soon as they were all up an investigation of the place began, duringwhich it was found that they had evidently hit upon one of the openings,or probably enough the principal one into the rock city, where upon thelevel where they stood some dozens of roughly carved-out, cell-likehabitations communicated one with another.

  There was a great deal of dust and other accumulation, for in damp spotswhere there was a chance for plants to exist they seemed to have grown,died, and turned to earth. Here and there, too, as the party made theirway from cell to cell there were proofs that various animals had takenpossession of the rough shelters and brought the prey they had captured,stores of well-gnawed bones lying scattered about; but saving the tracesleft of construction, cutting out of the rock and building in, theyfound nothing to show what kind of people they were who had lived there,nothing to prove how far back it was in the world's history that therock city had been occupied by a teeming population.

  "How long is it since people lived here, father?" was asked by Chris,after they had been wandering
about from cell to cell but not findingany way of getting higher without a dangerous climb from the terraceoutward.

  "Ah, you are asking what has been puzzling me," replied the doctor, "andI seem to be faced by a blank wall built-up between now and the past.If we could find anything in the shape of weapons or householdimplements, one might make a guess; but every trace we have found is ofthe last inhabitants."

  "Well, that ought to do," said Chris.

  "But I mean the pumas or jaguars that seem to have here and there turnedthe cells into caves, and left their gnawed bones about. They may havelived here fifty years ago, a hundred years, or five. But there is onething evident, and it is this--that the people who lived here chose theplace as being one that they could make into a stronghold, one whichthey could fortify so as to defend themselves from their enemies."

  "What enemies, sir?" asked Ned sharply.

  "Ah, that I can't tell you. The people here must have been to a greatextent civilised, or they would not have been builders; and most likelytheir enemies were wild Indian-like tribes who roamed the plains, asthey do to this day. I want to find something left by these builders,and then perhaps we might learn something."

  They had now come to the last of the long range of cells that they hadbeen making their way through, and further progress was checked by solidrock which had evidently been neither chipped away nor added to.

  They cautiously stepped through the front opening, to stand upon therough, crumbled-away terrace, from which they could look down into thegreat depression where the ponies and mules were contentedly grazing,and for about the tenth time looked upward for some means of reachingthe terrace above, one which appeared more time-worn and dangerous thanthat upon which they stood; but without ladders it would have beenrisking life to make any attempt to reach it.

  "Strikes me, sir," said Griggs, "that we've left the way up far behind."

  "Why?" said Wilton sharply.

  "Because we've seen no way here, and we found one there."

  "But _I_ could see nothing likely to lead higher," said Chris.

  "We didn't look about much," cried Ned. "We were eager to come alonghere."

  "Yes, I suppose that was so," said Chris thoughtfully. "Well, there'sthe row of cells above us, and there must be a way."

  "Unless it has been swept off by some landslip," suggested Bourne.

  "Well, we'll turn back now," said the doctor, "for even if we had ashovel I don't think we should find anything that would help us."

  They went back from cell to cell, and twice over found the terraceoutside sufficiently level and secure to allow of their passing alongit, but they soon had to take to the interior again with its lowdoorway-like connections.

  At last they all stood together at the top of the roughly-steppedsloping shaft by which they had ascended, to find that the roof here wasentirely broken away by the falling of a portion of the cliff; but theyfound also what they sought, for there, about a score of feet abovetheir heads, was the evident continuation of the shaft-like hole bywhich they had come up.

  "Look," cried Griggs triumphantly; "no wonder we could not find it."

  "But how are we to use it?" said Bourne.

  "Oh, we can manage that, sir; eh, boys?"

  "You might," said the doctor, gazing up, "but I'm sure I couldn't."

  "Oh yes, you could, sir, when one of us has been up and driven a peghere and a peg there into some of those cracks. The stones are quite inlayers; and after that we'll drive a very strong one in, and tie alariat to it to hang down like a balustrade to steady whoever goes up."

  "But where are the pegs?"

  "Down below, sir, growing in amongst those trees. I vote we go down,have some dinner, and come up again after I have chopped as many pegs asI think we shall want. I should bring the axe up here too, so as todrive them in. Why, Chris, lad, we could make a regular ladder upthere."

  Griggs' proposal was adopted, and that same afternoon found them in thesame place, with the American ready for action, and the boys carryingrope and pegs.

  And now what had seemed difficult before had grown easy, the American,who had cut plenty of tough short pieces of pine and formed themchisel-ended, driving one in between the natural faults in the stonewith the head of the axe, and then climbing upon it to drive in another,which formed a standing-place in turn, the slope upward of the cliffmaking the task easy--so easy, in fact, that less than half-an-hoursufficed to bring him to the spot where the shaft was in fairpreservation, with its projecting pieces of stone left by the originalcarvers of the way.

  Here the American fixed the strong peg pitched up to him by Chris, whohad followed him up step by step, and after tying to it one end of thelariat thrown up by Ned, the two workers made their way up to the intactshaft, and reached the first cell of the next row, some fifty feet abovethe other, gaining at the same time a better view of the terrace infront, and seeing that it was comparatively very little broken-down,merely worn by the weather.

  "Here, let's go on a little way," cried Chris eagerly.

  "No," replied Griggs; "fair play's a jewel. Let's go back; your fatherwill like to be one of the first to begin exploring."

  "So he will; but look, here they come."

  For Ned was close up, being the next to test the stability of the newladder, and was closely followed by the doctor and their other friends.

  "Capital!" cried the doctor. "A much finer view from up here. Why,with such a stronghold and no better way for the enemy to approach, theold people ought to have been able to set all the tribes of the plain atdefiance."

  "Perhaps they did, sir," said Griggs; "but it seems to me that they musthave had a regular channel of water coming down from above there tosupply all these rooms, or cells, as you call them."

  "Most likely," said the doctor.

  "How would it be then if the enemy managed to break down the channelfrom somewhere up yonder where we found the hole under the fallenstones? Could the people who attacked them have done that?"

  "Why, Griggs, you are making history. That was the old people'saqueduct, and it is quite possible that when they were besieged theenemy caused the destruction over which we climbed."

  "Yes," said Griggs thoughtfully; "that would ruin the folk. No doubtsome of these places were used as stores, and those might last foryears; but if their supply of water were cut off there wouldn't be muchchance for them then."

  "Well, let's see farther," said the doctor. "I can't help thinking thatthey must have been a strong and fairly civilised race."

  Chris led the way in, to find the cell he entered cut out and built-upjust the same as those which they had seen; but the floor was encumbereddeeply with the dust of ages, and on stirring some of it with his footthe boy drew back hurriedly and looked strangely at his father.

  "What have you found?" said the doctor.

  "The jaguars must have killed a man here, father," replied the boy, wholooked on in disgust as his father stepped in and picked up a skullwhich might have lain there, sheltered by the roofing of stone, forages. It looked brown and as if very little pressure would suffice tocrumble it up into dust; but the teeth left in the upper jaw wereperfect and fairly white.

  "Ah!" said the doctor thoughtfully. "Here's a bit of genuine history atlast."

  "Killed by a jaguar, father?" cried Chris excitedly.

  "No, my boy," was the reply; "this is not the marking of a jaguar'steeth, but the cause of death, plainly enough."

  "What, that hole?" cried Chris excitedly.

  "Yes. Look, the forehead has been crushed in by the blow from a stoneaxe, or possibly by a stone hurled from above."

  "Perhaps only held in the hand, sir," said Griggs thoughtfully.

  "Why, that's a heap of old bones," cried Ned, with a look of horror;"the dust's full of them."

  "Yes," said the doctor, moving the relics carefully with the butt of hisrifle for fragments that were fully defined as to shape to fall togetheras mere dust and hide portions below. "There's anoth
er skull,"continued the examiner, "crushed in more than the first. Afinely-preserved specimen, for, in spite of that hole, it shows theshape of the relic--a low forehead, retreating very rapidly, the browsvery bony and heavy, and the cheek-bones widely prominent."

  "That's not the same shaped skull as the first," said Bourne quickly.

  "Certainly not," replied the doctor. "I should say it belonged to afiercer, more savage race of man, who might have been an ancestor of thepresent Indians of the plains."

  "Then that was one of the enemy, father," said Chris decidedly, "and hegot it in the attack."

  "Possibly," said the doctor, looking strangely at his son. "He seems tohave got _it_, Chris, but that doesn't sound to me a very scientific wayof describing the antique remains."

  Chris turned very red, and pressed some of the dust aside with his foot,laying bare the side of another of the ghastly relics.

  "And that's like the first," cried the doctor, bending forward to pickit up, a skull looking whiter than either of the others. "Certainlythis is of a different race, Bourne, and the owner died in the same way,the brow crushed.--Look at that."

  The rest were already looking, and saw what caused the doctor's abruptexclamation, for as he took up the skull the back portion fell away andthe front dropped apart into so much crumbling dust.

  "We're looking down at the remains of a desperate fight, sir, I shouldsay," said Griggs thoughtfully. "It's just as if there had been a standmade here."

  "Come on into the next place," said the doctor eagerly; "but keep closeto the wall, following my steps. Ah! it's impossible to avoid crushingthe remains," he continued, as he sidled along, leaving his footprintsin the soft dust which lay thick.

  "I say, Chris, isn't this very horrid?" whispered Ned, as the boysfollowed last towards the low doorway opposite to that by which they hadentered.

  "Yes, I suppose so," said Chris thoughtfully; "but it makes one think ofever so far back when all this dust must have been alive--all fiercemen, fighting, some to kill, others to save their lives. I don't know;it doesn't seem so very horrid, though I don't like treading on alltheir dust--and--and--"

  "Bones," suggested Ned.

  "No; because they're not bones now, only the shape of bones. See howthat all crumbled-away when my father picked it up. Dust and ashes, weought to call it. Do you want to go back?"

  "N-no, I think not. I say, what a fight it must have been!"

  "Yes," said Chris, with a deep breath that sounded like a sigh. "Oneseems to fancy one can see the men who had the white skulls being drivenback from this cell into that one, and I shouldn't wonder if we findthat--"

  "Yes," came the doctor's voice from the next place, "it's wonderfullyinteresting. The civilised men must have been making a desperate standhere, and I fully expect that we shall find that they were driven backfrom cell to cell. Yes," he said, with his voice growing fainter."What do you say, Griggs?"

  "It's worse in here, sir, and--yes, worse still in the next place."

  "Driven back from cell to cell," cried the doctor, "and it's myimpression that we shall find the remains of women and children in thefarthest one. We shall hit upon the scene of a terrible massacre--thedestruction of the race who built-up this place."

  The boys had joined the speakers now, just in time to hear Wiltonspeak--

  "But I say, Lee, aren't you letting your imagination carry you a littletoo far?"

  "I think not," replied the doctor quietly. "Look here; you cannot callthis imagination. Small as the space is in these rock chambers, thereare the remains of scores of men who fought desperately for their lives.To me it seems like a vivid reproduction of the past."

  "How far back?" said Bourne.

  "Ah, that is beyond me. How long would it take these bones to decay tothis extent as they lay here just as their owners fell? It is aquestion that no man can answer--one dependent upon the action of theair in a climate like this, with the remains sheltered from sun andrain, to gradually pass away into dust. You can see plainly enough thatthese are not the remains found in some burial place, added to yearafter year, age after age. This slaughter must have been the work ofonly a few hours, and the people lie piled-up as they fell. Let's goon."

  Cell after cell was entered, with the remains lying thick as thewarriors had fallen, the searchers continuing the examination to thevery end, and then gladly stepping out on to the terrace, to stand therein the broad daylight, the air seeming to feel fresh and clear afterwhat they had gone through.

  "A strange bit of history," said the doctor thoughtfully. "We know nowand think how this bit of civilisation came to an end; but we havediscovered no weapons of war to help us to give a date to the siege."

  "But we haven't half done our search yet, sir," said Griggs. "There'sanother terrace above this, you see," and he pointed up to where therehad been another row of the cells formed in the rock-face, these latterstanding back a little and evidently being the last, for above them thecliff projected like a gigantic cave, as far as they could see, from endto end.

  "Who votes that we give up now and leave the examination till anotherday?" said Bourne, who had seemed more and more enthusiastic as thesearch went on.

  There was no reply.

  "Who votes that we try and get up to the next stage?"

  Hands went up, and Ned shouted eagerly--

  "Everybody."

  "Let's get back, then," said the doctor; "but we'll keep out here on theterrace as far as we can. It is gruesome work trampling amongst theashes of the fallen, interesting as it all is."

  "I suppose we shall find another of those chimney-like flights ofsteps," said Wilton; "but I was too much taken up with what we weredoing to notice."

  "I hope so," replied the doctor, "but I saw nothing. I fancy, though,that this was the only way up into the town or city, and, judging by theappearance of the next terrace, it will be the last."

  "Then we shall be able to get on to the top of the cliffs this way,sir," said Griggs.

  "I really can't say yet," was the reply. "Let's find the next shaftfirst, and see how far it goes."

  They kept along the terrace where they could, but here and there thefalling away of stones rendered it necessary for them to re-enter a celland keep for a little distance along by the inner passage. But at lastthe first cell of the series was reached, and directly after they werestanding at the top of the second stairway and looking about vainly fora third--the one that should give them a passage to the third floor ofdwelling-places.

  "There must be a way," said Griggs, as he stood scratching his head,"but I'm a bit puzzled. The upper rocks hang over here, and there seemsto be no sign of anything having broken away."

  "Let's look in the first cell again," said Chris; "perhaps it begins inthere."

  They stepped in to where the ashes lay piled-up and forming a slope onone side reaching half-way up the back wall, this portion not havingbeen disturbed.

  "No way out of this place except into the next chamber," said Griggs."We shall have to look somewhere else. But didn't you say we had foundno weapons yet, sir?" he continued, addressing the doctor.

  "Yes; you have not seen any?"

  "Looks like a couple of those stone axes yonder," said Griggs, pointingto the back of the sloping heap. "I'll get them."

  He took a couple of steps, and his feet sank in some depth. Thenquickly taking another and another to preserve his equilibrium, heuttered a cry of annoyance, for his weight had set the whole of the heapof dust in motion, bringing part into the cell where they stood, whilethe rest glided like sand upon a slope, evidently sinking through asimilar opening to that which led into the next chamber, but here formedin the wall exactly opposite to the window looking out on to theterrace.

  "Lend us a hand," cried Griggs, and he snatched at one of thosestretched out to his aid, following the rest in a hurried flight out ofthe place, for the whole of the ashes and bones were in motion and ranout through the back with a soft rushing sound.