In the tiger's lair

“I hope the two dead tigers down there are not the only ones that remained in the crater. It would be a pity to exterminate such a wonderful species,” Stanley said toward morning. They had watched throughout the long hours of the night without seeing more of the beasts. So long as the moon shone observation had been comparatively easy, but when the bright disk dipped behind the crater walls the darkness was intense. They strained their eyes and ears but saw or heard nothing.

“It does seem a pity to destroy all of them, but what else can we do? If they are not killed they will eventually wipe out the people,” Ted returned.

“Quizquiz!” Stanley called to the crouching form that had not stirred from its place on the ledge. “You spent last night in the crater. Were there many of the creatures you call demons, but which are in reality tigers? Did you see more than two?”

“There were more than two. There were more than four. I saw five from my crevice in the rocks after I had regained my senses and looked out.”

“I wonder why we saw only two to-night?”

“I saw a third and a fourth near the lake just before the moonlight faded; but the smell of the blood of their dead kindred kept them from coming nearer.”

“What? You saw others to-night?” from Stanley severely. “Why did you not tell us about it?”

“A prisoner may not speak to his captors unless he is spoken to first,” Quizquiz replied meekly.

“You are right. See that you keep your proper place at all times.”

When daylight was fairly advanced, Soncco and the soldiers appeared in the distance. They approached the spot cautiously until Stanley, from his lofty station, bade them halt. Soncco alone was commanded to advance to the foot of the precipice, but in deference to his age Stanley came down the ladder instead of asking the elderly man to climb up. Ted remained above to keep his eye on the captive, and also to watch for signs of life in the crater. He could not hear what was being said by the two below, but after half an hour Stanley rejoined him, while Soncco remained on the ground.

“We have been discussing a number of things,” he said in answer to his companion’s inquiring looks. “I suggested some of them, Soncco thought of others, and still others just grew out of our conversation. First, before anything is decided definitely, I want to lay the plans before you so you can express your opinion. Whatever we do concerns both of us. Your future, as well as mine, depends on the outcome of things.”

“All right,” Ted returned, “but I should be perfectly willing to intrust the whole matter to you; you have done pretty well, so far.”

“Thanks! But I will let you help. Now, first, here is the crater. From all we can see of it it does not possess much value as an agricultural proposition. There are scores of queer animals in there that probably do not exist anywhere else on the face of the earth. If we let the people go in there the animals will be exterminated in short order. We do not want that. They are a last remnant of a prehistoric age, just as the people in the valley are the last pitiful reminder of a once powerful nation, possessing a wonderful civilization. Both survived because they were isolated from the outer world—and would still be so but for us.”

“How can we save them?” Ted asked. “I am in favor of it if it can be done.”

“That great wall between Uti and the main valley was built to keep the tigers from destroying the people years ago,” Stanley said, pointing to the massive structure, the end of which had been undermined and destroyed by the explosion. “If that was not too much work for them, it will not be too much to fill up this little gap.”

“That’s a bully idea. We can watch up here while the men place the stones in position, and protect them if need be. Then life can go on in the crater just the same as if we had never found it.”

“Exactly. I am glad you are in favor of that, too. Now for the two dead tigers. We must take them out, of course, and carry them back home with us. I am glad we have them, and we have a clear conscience also. We did not destroy them wantonly. And we did not exterminate the species.”

“I should say we do want to take them home with us. They will be the biggest treasure we shall get.”

“Then we must have them dragged out and skinned. The skins and skeletons will weigh a lot. Remember, the same weight in gold would be worth a fortune.”

“I would rather have the animals. Some museum will be glad to have them, and they will create no end of discussions. Now we ought to make a solemn pledge—never to tell any one of this place, or how to get to it. We shall have the proof that we were in some prehistoric spot, and that will have to be enough.”

“It’s a go. Shake! Now that is settled. Soncco wants to have the coronation at once. I want him to hold off a while. We must have time to learn more of our respective jobs before undertaking the responsibility of them. How does that strike you?”

“Very sensible, I should say. Let’s call together all the amautas in the valley and ask them questions. They can tell us all we ought to know.”

“We’ll do that. Last of all is the proposition of having Quizquiz on our hands. But we can come to no decision about him just now. Time may make a difference in the attitude we should assume toward him. We must be perfectly fair and see that no injustice is done any one.”

“That seems to answer the question for the time being. He is our prisoner and we can take our time in deciding what his fate shall be.”

Stanley went back down the ladder and, after a short conversation with Soncco, the latter commanded the soldiers to advance. He then placed himself at the head of the column and led it through the passage into the crater. There, under his direction, they fastened thongs to the legs of the great animals, and after an infinite amount of tugging and panting succeeded in dragging the heavy carcasses out into the valley. Then they built a fire in the far end of the gap, after which Ted and Quizquiz, the latter with a cloth covering his face, came down from the ledge, and while messengers returned to the city for laborers the two Americans examined their prizes, measured them, and made numerous notes upon their appearance. The monsters were terrible even in death. They were the size of a grizzly bear and of a uniformly tawny color. The head and shoulders were massive and showed that the brutes possessed unrivalled strength. A short but thick mane of coarse hair grew on the neck, although it was not so abundant as the mane of a lion. From each side of the mouth protruded a long, curved tooth, sharp and dagger-like. It was these terrible weapons, a foot long, coupled with the powerful claws, that made the tigers so formidable, and enabled them to kill without danger to themselves every denizen of the crater world excepting only the buffaloes, whose safety lay in concerted action. The tail was short and thick.

One of the animals, the one that had fallen from the high ledge, had been so badly mauled that its skin was torn to shreds in numerous places. The other was in perfect condition; it had been struck by five of the twenty shots fired from the machine-gun.

Ted and Stanley lost no time in beginning the preparation of their prizes, after having recorded the necessary observations. At their request Soncco detailed a dozen soldiers to do the work under their direction. The natives were wide-eyed with wonder at sight of the strange creatures, and marvelled over the fact that the Americans had been able to slay them, for, according to their traditions, they were demons that had best be pacified with offerings of victims, and not attacked and vanquished. But so accustomed were they to the rigid discipline of army life that they dared not question the orders that had been given them, and fell to work in a mechanical manner.

While some worked at removing the skins, others began to scrape the bones. When the skins were finally free from the flesh they were stretched on frames of poles and raised to a vertical position. Soon a black speck appeared in the sky, then another, and another, until a score of vultures were circling overhead, drawing constantly nearer and moving their bare heads from side to side as they scanned the ground for the food they had sensed from a distance.

At a word from Soncco the men stepped back a few yards and stood motionless. Then the repulsive birds swooped down and hovering in front of the hides pecked and tore at the particles of flesh that clung to them until they were clean, so that they could dry without spoiling. The skins themselves were not in the least injured by the birds; only the superfluous tissue had been removed, and the men were saved the trouble of scraping and dressing them down.

After that, the bones of both tigers were taken to an ant-hill and buried in the loose mound. In a few days they too would be perfectly clean, and could be taken out and packed for transportation.

“If we had rifles we could make a complete collection of all the species in the crater,” Ted exclaimed. “There is not another one like it in the world.”

“The temptation to do that would be strong, so I am glad we have no rifles.”

“Yes, it is best to let them stay where they are and to live their lives as was intended rather than preserve them in a glass case.”

By this time a detachment of the laborers arrived. This group had been recruited from the nearest village and brought camping equipment and supplies. Soncco immediately put them to work erecting tents for the Americans, and when this had been accomplished the two retired for a much-needed rest. The aged amauta had urged them again to return to the city, but they steadfastly refused, saying that the safety of the populace was their first consideration. Their own comfort could wait. How different was their conduct from that of the deposed Inca! Although they had been raised to the highest ranks by popular acclamation, their request that the people refrain from showing signs of homage were wonderingly respected; and their orders were instantly obeyed. That was sufficient for the present. It would inspire that confidence and admiration that would be the greatest asset in the long run.

Quizquiz, unrecognized, shared their quarters with them. No one dared question them upon any matter whatever, so their secret was safe.

It was not until the following morning that the laborers arrived in numbers. A roaring fire had been kept burning in the passage throughout the night, and there had been no attempt on the part of the tigers to force this barrier. That more of the ferocious creatures did exist in the crater, however, was proven by the occasional roar that issued from the dark regions beyond the fire.

Being unacquainted with the working methods of the Indians, Stanley turned the proposition of building the wall over to Soncco, who in turn immediately placed one of the chief masons in complete charge of the undertaking. The latter proceeded in a most businesslike manner. He divided his workmen into squads and assigned to each its respective duty.

There being need of great haste, the master mason had decided to erect a temporary obstruction first. Some of the workers brought baskets of earth and pebbles from the river-bank, carrying their burdens on their shoulders, and dumped them into the opening. Others picked out the smaller fragments of stone from the débris of the tumbled-down section of the great wall, and of the avalanche that had slid down the mountainside, and threw them into the breach. It was surprising to see how rapidly the heap of material grew in height as the unbroken line of toilers filed past and deposited the contents of their baskets.

Nor did they pause in their labors for food or drink. At frequent intervals they crammed handfuls of coca-leaves into their mouths, which they chewed or held in their cheeks so that they bulged out like a gopher’s. The effect of the drug derived from the dried leaves was to deaden all feelings of thirst, hunger, and fatigue. At night they ate a large quantity of thick porridge, made by boiling ground maize in water; after eating, each man took off his poncho, or cape, wrapped it tightly about himself, and lay down on the bare ground to sleep.

By the end of the second day the ridge of earth and pebbles had reached a height of fifteen yards, and preparations were made to begin work on the wall proper on the following morning. The skilled masons had been engaged during this time in hewing the blocks of stone intended for the permanent structure. They used mallets of stone and chisels of tempered copper.

The stones for the first layer, or foundation, were of large size and very heavy. They were rolled and pried into place by a swarm of workmen who used long, stout poles as levers. This accomplished, the horde again took up its baskets and brought pebbles and earth as heretofore. But this time the material was thrown on the ground in front of the wall-base and tamped into place, forming an inclined plane, the higher end of which was level with the top of the row of stones already in place. Other blocks of granite were now pried and rolled on the first tier; then the sloping plane was immediately filled in to reach the top of this layer.

Thus the work continued for thirty days. And when the wall had reached the height of fifty feet it was considered finished. The tigers were again shut off from the valley, isolated in their own little world, to live their lives free from the destructive influences of man, and the inhabitants of the Inca’s domain were safe from the attacks of the ferocious creatures. Ted and Stanley felt sure that the Indians would never reopen the passage; they held the great beasts in superstitious awe and were afraid of them, and were only too glad to keep them prisoner where they belonged.

The workers now removed the material forming the inclined plane, leaving the wall straight and true, rising from the foot of the escarpment, with each stone exposed to view. As this task was one not requiring their supervision, and would take a long time, for the earth and pebbles were scooped into baskets and returned to the places from which they had been taken, the two Americans did not stay to see its completion.

They had spent the days in serious discussions with Soncco, and others of the amautas were sent for at times. The policy of the new government was considered minutely; reforms were considered; and, after numerous secret sessions to which Ted and Stanley admitted only Soncco, the fate of Quizquiz was definitely decided. Their power and authority was supreme; they would use them as they saw fit, and the example they had determined to set was one the people would never forget.