CHAPTER XXXIV.
LIOLA'S DISCOVERY.
WITH a sudden bound I left Liola's side and sprang upon the leader of ourenemies, clutching him fiercely by the throat and shouting forassistance. No one was, however, near, and for a few moments we struggleddesperately. He was unarmed, and I, having unfortunately dropped my swordin the encounter, our conflict resolved itself into a fierce wrestle forthe possession of the weapon which must give victory to the one intowhose hands it fell. Once Samory, wiry and muscular like all Arabs,notwithstanding his age, stooped swiftly in an endeavour to snatch up theblade, but seeing his intention, my fingers tightened their grip upon histhroat, and he was compelled to spring up again without obtainingpossession of the weapon. For several minutes our struggle was desperate,for he had managed to pinion my arms, and I knew that ere long I must bepowerless, his strength being far superior to my own.
Liola screamed for help, but no one seemed within call, when suddenly thethought seemed to suggest itself to her to snatch up my weapon and holdit.
I turned to take it from her, but by this action my grip upon my Arab foebecame released, and with a desperate spring he forced himself from mygrasp, bounding away, leaving a portion of his white _jibbeh_ in my hand.But, determined that he should not escape, I dashed after him headlongacross the chamber, and out by the opposite door. In the court beyond aknot of our soldiers were standing discussing the events of the day, andI shouted to them; but the sight of me chasing a single fugitive slavedid not appeal to them, and they disregarded my order to arrest hisprogress. Nevertheless I kept on, feeling assured that sooner or later Imust run him to earth, but never thinking of the intricacies with whichall such palaces abound, intricacies which must be well-known to theMohammedan ruler.
Suddenly, after endeavouring to elude me by ingenious devicesinnumerable, and always finding himself frustrated, he entered a chamberleading from the Court of the Eunuchs, and had gained on me sufficientlyto disappear ere I reached the entrance. I rushed through after him,believing that he had crossed the deserted court beyond, but wassurprised to find that I had utterly lost him. I halted to listen, butcould hear no footsteps, and after a careful examination of all theoutlets, presently returned in chagrin to the chamber into which he hadsuddenly dashed, before escaping.
Standing in its centre I looked wonderingly around. Then, for the firsttime, I discovered that our soldiers, obeying their instructions, hadbeen pouring inflammable liquids everywhere throughout the Kasbah, and agreat burst of blood-red flame in the outer court told me that the placehad been ignited. At that moment, Liola, with white scared face,believing that she had lost me, entered the chamber, but I recognized ourimminent peril, surrounded as we were by a belt of fire.
"Fly!" I cried, frantically. "Fly! quick, back across yonder court tosave thy life! In a few moments I will join thee. I must examine thischamber ere I depart."
"I will not go without thee," she answered with calm decision.
"Why riskest thou thy life?" I cried in excitement. "Fly, or in a momentit may be too late, we may both be overwhelmed or suffocated."
But she stirred not. She stood by me in silence, gazing in fear at thered roaring flames that, raging outside, now cut off our retreat byeither door. The cause of my hesitation to rush away at first sight ofthe flames, was the suspicion that somewhere in that chamber was a secretexit. The sudden manner in which the Arab chieftain had eluded me couldonly have been accomplished by such means. The chamber, well furnishedand supported by three great twisted columns of milk-white marble, hadits floor covered with costly rugs and its walls hung with dark redhangings, bearing strange devices and inscriptions in long thin Arabiccharacters. Few rooms in the Kasbah were decorated in this manner, and ithad instantly occurred to me that, concealed somewhere, was one of thosesecret ways which, whether in the Oriental palace, or the mediaevalEuropean castle, are so suggestive of treachery and intrigue.
Although one horse-shoe arch of the place led into the Court of theEunuchs, the other, I noticed, was in direct communication with Samory'sprivate apartments. With consummate skill he had led me here by such acircuitous route that I had not at first noticed that it joined a kind ofante-room to his pavilion.
But the roaring flames that every moment leaped nearer, cracklingfuriously and fanning us with their scorching breath, allowed me no timefor further reflection. Escape was now entirely cut off; only bydiscovering the secret exit could we save ourselves. In breathless hasteI rushed around the walls, tapping them with my sword; but such actionproved useless, as I could hear nothing above the roaring and cracklingon either side. With my hands I tried to discover where the door wasconcealed, rushing from side to side in frantic despair, but the exit,wherever it existed, was too cunningly hidden.
So dense had the smoke become that we could not see across the chamber;tongues of fire had ignited the heavy silken hangings, and the wholeinterior was alight from end to end.
"We are lost--lost!" shrieked Liola in despair "We have fallen victimsto our own terrible vengeance upon our enemies."
Within myself I was compelled to admit this, for it seemed as thoughSamory had led us into a veritable death-trap that the soldiers of Mo hadthemselves prepared. Suddenly, as a last chance, I remembered I had notexamined the three great marble columns, each of such circumference thata man could not embrace them in his arms. I dashed forward, and in theblinding smoke, that caused my eyes to water and held my chestcontracted, I tried to investigate whether they were what they appearedto be, solid and substantial supports. The first was undoubtedlyfashioned out of a single block of stone, the lower portion polished bythe thousands of people who during many centuries had brushed past it.The second was exactly similar, and the third also. But the latter seemedmore chipped and worn than the others, and just as I was about to abandonall hope I made a sudden discovery that thrilled me with joy. As Igrasped it a portion of it fell back, disclosing that the column washollow.
The hole was just sufficient to admit the passage of one's body, andwithout an instant's hesitation I drew Liola forward, and urged her toget inside. The flames were now lapping about us, and another moment'sdelay would mean certain death. Therefore she dashed in, and as she didso sank quickly out of sight, while the portion of the marble columnclosed again with a snap.
The rapidity with which she disappeared astounded me, the more so, when,after the lapse of about a minute the platform whereon she had steppedrose again, and with a click returned to its place. Only then was Ienabled to re-open the cavity. Apparently it worked automatically, andbeing balanced in some way, as soon as Liola had stepped off it, hadrisen again. Instantly I stepped upon it, and with hands close to mysides, sank so swiftly into the darkness that the wind whistled throughmy garments and roared in my ears. The descent was, I judged, about twohundred feet, but in the pitch darkness I could not discern the characterof the shaft. Of a sudden with a jerk it stopped, and finding myself in astrange dimly-lit chamber bricked like a vault, with Liola standingawaiting me, I stepped off, and as I did so the platform shot up againinto its place.
"We have, at all events, escaped being burned alive," my fair companionexclaimed when she recovered breath. "But this place is weird and dismalenough."
"True," I answered. "There must, however, be some exit, or Samory wouldnot have entered it. We must explore and discover it."
Glancing around the mysterious vault I saw burning in a niche, with asupply of oil sufficient to last several weeks, a single lamp that hadapparently always been kept alight. Taking it up I led the way throughthe long narrow chamber. The walls, blackened by damp, were covered withgreat grey fungi, while lizards and other reptiles scuttled from our pathinto the darkness. At the further end, the vault narrowed into a passageso low that we were compelled to stoop when entering it. In this burrow,the ramifications of which were extraordinary, Liola's filmy garmentscame to sad grief, for catching upon the projecting portions of rock,they were rent from time to time, while the loss of one of her littlegreen slippe
rs necessitated some delay in recovering it. Yet gropingalong the narrow uneven way in search of some exit, we at length cameinto a larger chamber, bricked like the others, and as we entered it werestartled by a sudden unearthly roar.
We both drew back, and Liola, in fear, clutched my arm.
"Listen!" she gasped. "What was that?"
Again the noise was repeated, causing the low-roofed chamber to echo, andas I peered forward into the darkness, my gaze was transfixed by a pairof gleaming fiery eyes straight before us.
Similar noises I had heard in the forest on many occasions, and thestartling truth at once flashed across my mind. Confronting us was alion!
I stood in hesitation, not knowing how to act, while Liola clung to me,herself detecting the gleaming eyes and being fully aware of our peril.Yet scarcely a moment passed ere there was a loud rushing sound in thedarkness, and the animal, with a low growl, flew through the air in ourdirection. We had no time to elude him, but fortunately he seemed to havemisjudged his distance, for he alighted about half-a-dozen paces short ofus. So close was his head that the two gleaming orbs seemed to berivetted to us. We felt his breath, and unable to draw back, we fearedthat each second must be our last.
Next moment I heard a clanking of chains, a sound that gave me instantcourage.
"Hark!" I cried joyously. "At present we are safe, for the brute ischained!"
Such we ascertained a few minutes later was actually the case, and as Istood there, lamp in hand, my foot struck something. Glancing down I sawit was a human thigh-bone. The animal had already tasted the blood ofman, and, straining at his chain, was furious to spring upon us. I thenbecame puzzled to know the reason why this fierce king of the forestshould be kept in captivity at this depth if not to guard some entranceor exit. For a few moments I reflected, and at length arrived at theconclusion that during our progress we had slowly ascended towards theearth's surface, and that through the lion's den was the exit of thatsubterranean way. Again, we had neither seen nor heard sign of thefugitive chieftain. By some means or other he must have succeeded inpassing the ferocious brute, and if he had accomplished it, we surelycould also.
With my words half drowned by the continuous roar of the fiery-eyedguardian of the secret burrow, I explained briefly to Liola the result ofmy reflections, and then set about to ascertain the length of the chainholding the animal. After several experiments, allowing it to springforward at me half-a-dozen times and narrowly escaping its ponderous pawsmore than once, I ascertained that the chain was just short enough toallow a person to cross the chamber flattened against the opposite wall.
Holding the lamp still in my hand and urging Liola to brace her nervesand watch me closely, I essayed the attempt, creeping cautiously with myback against the roughly-hewn side of the underground lair, and drawingmy garments about me to prevent them being hooked by the cruel claws thatfollowed me within a yard during the whole distance. Before my eyes thebig shaggy head wagged continuously, the great jaws with their terribleteeth opened, emitting terrific roars of rage and closed again with adull ominous click, while the chain was strained until I feared it mightbe rent asunder.
Through several minutes mine was a most horrible experience, for I knewnot whether the wall was even; if not, I must have fallen beneath theferocious claws. However, I managed to successfully cross the brute'sden, and shouting to Liola that the passage was perfectly safe, providingshe kept her garments closely about her and did not remove her back fromthe wall, held up the light to her.
With reassuring words she commenced to follow my example, and when thebrute saw me in safety and noticed her approach, he left me and sprangtowards her. But again he fell short, almost strangled by the pressureupon the iron collar that held him. With an awful roar, his jaws snappingin rage, and his paws constantly clutching at her, he followed herclosely just as he had followed me. I feared that she might suddenlyfaint from the terrible strain upon her nerves, but having witnessed mysafe passage she preserved a calmness that was amazing. Twice as theanimal, after crouching, leapt suddenly forward I feared the chain mustgive way, but beyond a low frightened scream escaping her, she preserveda cool demeanour, and a few moments later I was gratified to find herstanding panting but unharmed at my side.
"There is an exit somewhere near," I exclaimed a moment later, while sherearranged her torn, blood-stained garments and smoothed her hair withher hands. "Come, let us search."
On proceeding we soon found ourselves in a small passage, drier than theformer, and descending rather steeply for some distance, suddenly enteredanother spacious chamber hewn from the solid rock. Immediately we wereinside some peculiarity of its walls attracted my gaze, and I noticed, inaddition, that we were in a _cul-de-sac_.
There was, after all, no exit!
The rocky walls, however, rivetted the attention of both of us, for letinto them at frequent intervals were large square plates of iron. These Iexamined carefully, quickly arriving at the conclusion that they had beenplaced there to close up hewn cavities. With this opinion, Liola,assisting me in my investigations, fully agreed. Each plate, lookingcuriously like the door of an oven, had apparently been fitted deeplyinto grooves sunk in the hard rock, for although I tried one after theother, seeking to remove them, they would not budge. By tapping upon themI ascertained that they were of great thickness, and I judged that eachmust weigh several hundredweight. They were not doors, for they had nohinges, yet beneath each one was a small semi-circular hole in the ironinto which I could just thrust my little finger. These were certainly notkey-holes, but rather, it seemed, intended to admit air.
In the course of our eager investigations we suddenly came upon a greatpile of strongly-bound loads, each wrapped in untanned cow-hide and boundtightly with wire. From their battered appearance they had evidentlyrested upon the heads of carriers throughout a long march.
"I wonder what they contain?" Liola exclaimed, as we both looked downupon them.
"Let us see," I said. Handing her the lamp, I knelt upon one of thepackages, and after considerable trouble succeeded in unbinding the wire.Then as I tore away its thick covering, we both uttered cries ofamazement. The sight that met our gaze was bewildering.
From the package there rolled out into the dust a profusion ofmagnificent glittering jewels.
"Ah! What diamonds!" Liola cried, with admiration for the iridescentstones that was particularly feminine. Then, picking up a splendidbracelet and slipping it upon her wrist, she added, "Look! Isn't thismarvellous? The gems are larger than I have ever before seen."
"Beautiful!" I cried gleefully, for by sheer good fortune we haddiscovered Samory's hidden treasure, and I reflected that our conquestwould be rendered absolutely complete by its removal in triumph to Mo.
After a cursory examination of the first pack we together undid them oneafter another, eagerly investigating their glistening contents, andfinding them to consist of a collection of the most wonderful andvaluable precious stones it was possible to conceive. There were a fewheavy gold ornaments of antique pattern, but in most of them jewels wereset, and those only of the most antique and magnificent character. Everyknown gem was there represented by specimens larger, and of far purerwater, than my eyes had ever before beheld. Upon her knees, Liola, with acry of pleasure, plunged both hands into the glittering heap of jewels,drawing out one after another and holding them up to the glimmeringlight, her bright eyes full of admiration. The examination of nearlyforty great packages took us a long time, but so fascinating proved ourtask that we were heedless of how the hours sped in our determination toascertain the true extent of our discovery.
While still upon her knees I had opened almost the last package andspread it before her, when, with a sudden ejaculation she withdrew amagnificent necklet of emeralds of huge size in quaint ancient settings,and with a gay laugh held it up to me for a moment, then clasped it abouther own white neck. In the centre hung a pendant consisting of a singleemerald of enormous size and brilliant lustre, and as I regarded it inthe half light, i
ts shape struck me as distinctly curious. I snatched upthe lamp, and bending, examined the quaintly-cut gem more minutely. Then,next instant, I cried excitedly:
"See! The shape of the pendant proves the origin of the necklet!"
With a quick movement she tore it off and looked. Then, in amazement, shegasped:
"It is a representation of Zomara, our god!"
We both scrutinized it closely. Yes, there was no mistake, the emeraldhad been fashioned into the form of a perfect crocodile, with open jaws,even the teeth being finely chiselled, a veritable marvel of thelapidary's art. While we were both looking at it puzzled, Liola's eyessuddenly became attracted by sight of something in the package I had justopened, and stooping swiftly, picked out of a mass of ornaments amagnificent diadem of some strange milk-coloured, opaque crystals of acharacter entirely strange to me. The stones were beautifully cut andpolished, and although they glittered, even in the sickly rays of ourlamp, they had no transparency.
"Behold!" she cried in a voice full of awe, her clear eyes wide open inastonishment. "See what we have discovered!"
I gazed at it, failing at first to notice what I afterwards recognised.
"It is a crown," I said laughing. "A crown fit to grace thy brow!"
"It is the great Rock Diadem of the Sanoms of Mo!" she answered. "See! Itis surmounted by the vampire, our national emblem!"
Then, I saw that upon the crest of the diadem was a single great diamondwonderfully chiselled to represent a bat with outspread wings, the deviceupon the banners of the mystic realm.
"This," she continued, "is without doubt the historic crown of the firstNaya. Though it hath never been seen for ages by the eyes of man, it wasalways popularly supposed to be preserved in the secret Treasure-house ofthe Sanoms, among the royal jewels. Many are the beliefs andsuperstitions regarding it. The stones are said to be the first pieces ofrock chipped during the foundation of our City in the Clouds, which, asthou art aware, was her work a thousand years ago. Among the possessionsof our royal house no relic hath been more venerated than this RockDiadem of the Naya. How it came hither I know not. It is assuredly amystery."
"No," I answered, endeavouring to subdue my excitement. "We have nowelucidated the mystery. The Treasure-house of Mo hath been entered bythieves, and the most valuable of the royal treasures stolen. The matterhath been kept secret from the people, but by our discovery the identityof the robbers is established beyond doubt, and we have thus recoveredthe wealth of a nation that was believed to be irretrievably lost."
"But is all of this Omar's lost treasure?" she inquired, astounded at mystatement, glancing at the huge heap of gold and jewels nearly as high asourselves, and of such great value as to be utterly beyond computation.
"Without doubt," I answered, stooping and picking up several jewelledtrinkets, girdles and other ornaments, each bearing the sacred reptile orthe vampire crest of royalty. "The recovery of these will, at least repaythy nation for the expedition sent against their enemy. Retain possessionof the Rock Diadem of Mo, for thou hast discovered it, and with thine ownhands shalt thou deliver it into the possession of the ruler who loveththee."
Then, carefully wrapping the ancient badge of regal dignity in a piece ofhide and binding it securely with wire as the carriers' loads had been, Igave it back to her. In half an hour we had completed our examination ofthe wondrous accumulation of treasure, finding among it many quaint andextraordinary ornaments, some no doubt dating from the earlier days ofthe foundation of the mysterious isolated kingdom, and othersmanufactured during recent centuries. The gems were unique in size andcharacter. Truly the thieves in the employ of the Arab chief had takencare to secure the most valuable portion of the royal jewels and leavebehind only those of least worth.
With the secret of their concealment in our possession we were both fullof eagerness to get back to the light of day and take steps for theirremoval, yet I confess that the mystery of what was contained behindthose strange plates of iron puzzled me.
Leaving Liola to continue her inspection of our discovered treasures, Icrossed to the wall and examined one of the plates again, trying withboth hands to force it out, but being compelled to relinquish the attemptas hopeless. I was about to give up all idea of discovering how theymight be opened, when Liola suddenly uttered an exclamation, and inturning to glance at her, the flame of the lamp I held came into contactwith the wall close to the plate that had defied my exertions to removeit.
In an instant a bright flash ran around the chamber, lighting it up asbright as day; a puff of grey smoke was belched in our faces, and areport like thunder deafened us.
An explosion had occurred, great pieces of rock and other _debris_ beingflung in all directions.
Its terrific force hurled me heavily against the wall, while Liola wasflung face downward upon the pile of jewels. Fortunately, neither of ussustained any injury beyond a few bruises, but when I had assisted her torise, and gazed around, I was amazed to discover that a strange thing hadoccurred. The whole of the iron plates had been torn from their sockets,and a dark cavity behind each disclosed.
The small sealed cells had been wrenched open simultaneously, as if by amiracle.
But upon careful examination there was, I found, nothing miraculous inthe manner in which they had thus been forced. The suffocating smoke thatfilled the place was of itself sufficient evidence of the agent to whichthe explosion had been due, and when I looked at the first cavity I sawthat right around the chamber, from plate to plate, there had been laid atrain of gunpowder, communicating with a charge of powder placed behindeach of the semi-circular holes that had so puzzled me. Apparently it hadbeen deemed by Samory wiser to seal the cells entirely rather than securethem by locks, and the train of powder had been placed in position in theevent of any reverse of fortune requiring him to secure his treasurequickly before flight. A single spark, as I had accidentally proved, wassufficient to open every cell simultaneously.
Fortunately our lamp was not blown out by the concussion, therefore assoon as the smoke cleared, we together made another tour of inspectionaround the cavities, finding each of them crammed to overflowing withtreasure of every description. Five of the cells, apparently freshlysealed, contained a portion of the stolen jewels of Mo, but all theremainder were evidently the spoils of war, much of it of enormous value.It amused me, too, to discover in one of the cavities, among a greatcollection of costly bejewelled ornaments, such European articles as apair of common scissors in a pasteboard case, several penknives of thecommonest quality, an India-rubber squeaking doll, a child's toy train intin, and a mechanical mouse. All were, no doubt, considered as treasuresby the Arab potentate, yet I reflected that nearly every article in thewhole of that miscellaneous collection had been acquired by the mostruthless and merciless bloodshed.
When at last we became convinced of the necessity for finding some exit,we left the chamber by the way we had entered. The discovery of thewonderful treasure of the Sanoms made it plain to me that there must bean exit somewhere, for the packs were far too ponderous to have beenlowered from the Kasbah by the way we had entered. On reflection I sawthat the lion was evidently kept there to guard the entrance to the storeof treasure, therefore it was not surprising that there was no outlet inthat direction.
No, we should be compelled to repass the brute. This fact I explained toLiola, but it in no way disconcerted her, for she crept past thesnapping jaws of the furious beast calmly, holding the treasured RockDiadem close beside her. Presently, on making a diligent search, wediscovered a long dark tunnel running at right angles to the path we hadtraversed, and following this ascended to where a faint but welcomeglimmer of light showed. Soon we were in a small natural cavern, and afew moments later struggled upward to the light of day, amazed to findourselves on the bank of a beautiful river. At our feet the clear coolwater ran by, placid and peaceful, but away across the grass-plain abouthalf a mile distant was the once-powerful city of Koussan, enveloped inblack smoke that ascended to the clear blue heavens,
mingled with greatflames, the fierce roar of which reached our ears where we stood.
The vengeance of Mo had indeed overtaken her Arab enemy, and completelycrushed him.
The Great White Queen: A Tale of Treasure and Treason Page 34